The relationship of cigarette smoking to end-stage renal disease.

Cigarette smoking (CS) has been associated with augmented progression of nephropathies responsible for the 4 major causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States. CS has well-described ways by which it causes tissue injury in other organ systems and the mechanisms by which it adversely affects nephropathy progression might be similar. Therefore, exploring the mechanisms for CS-induced nephropathy or progression thereof might yield important insights into the general mechanisms by which some or most nephropathies progress to ESRD. In addition, CS can be discontinued and so is a potentially correctable risk factor for ESRD, a syndrome whose incidence continues to increase. Therefore, the mechanism(s) by which CS induces nephropathy progression is an important area of investigation.