The association between inflammation markers, coronary artery disease and smoking.

Inflammation and smoking are associated with risk of cardiovascular disease, but not much is known yet about their relationship. We studied in 15 smoking and 15 nonsmoking patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and in 15 smoking and 15 nonsmoking healthy subjects the relationships with the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). IL-6 and TNF-alpha were significantly higher in patients than in controls, both in smokers and in nonsmokers. Smoking only had a significant effect on IL-6, and mainly in the controls. In conclusion, inflammation is affected by both smoking and cardiovascular disease.