title: [The comparative analysis of arterial wall thickness and arterial wall stiffness in smoking and non-smoking university students].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to detect the adverse effects of smoking on arterial wall thickness and arterial wall stiffness in young, healthy university students.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Does only a few years of smoking result in measurable vascular alterations in healthy young people?
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the intima-media thickness (IMT) on both common carotids by means of carotid ultrasound, then we examined the stiffnessparameters of the blood vessels (pulse wave velocity, PWV; augmentation index, Aix) with the help of arteriograph.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 25 smoking and 25 non-smoking young volunteers aged 19-33 for our examinations. Exclusion citeria included any known diseases, abnormally high cholesterol levels, BMI value exceeding 30 kg/m2. Only regular smokers were allowed to participate in the smoking group (at least for six months, minimum five cigarettes a day).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In case of smokers morphological, hemodinamic and stiffnessparameters showed significantly higher values compared to non-smokers. Mean bilateral IMT was 0.52 +/- 0.034 mm in case of smokers, while in non-smokers we measured 0.46 +/- 0.036 mm (this difference is significant: p<0.01). PWV and heart rate also showed significantly higher values in smoking group (PWV: p<0.01; heart rate: p<0.05). Unadjusted to age, gender and smoking status there was a significant correlation between IMT and PWV (0.1 mm thicker IMT - 0.6354 m/s faster PWV). Gender differences were found in vascular changes caused by smoking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The adverse effects of smoking on arterial wall thickness and arterial wall stiffness can be seen even at a young age, only after a few years of smoking. Both higher IMT and higher PWV sensitively predict vascular damages.
authors.affiliation: Debreceni Egyetem, Orvos- és Egészségtudományi Centrum, Neurológiai Klinika, Debrecen.
authors.forename: Brigitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Léránt
authors.forename: Straesser
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Christina
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oláh
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kardos
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Csiba
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D059289:Vascular Stiffness; D055815:Young Adult