Serum myeloperoxidase level is increased in heavy smokers

Raised myeloperoxidase (MPO) serum levels are as-sociated with endothelial dysfunction and cigarette smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Since myocardial infarction is associated with leuko-cytosis and smokers present increased levels of neu-trophils, here we hypothesized that the levels of se-rum MPO in smokers could be also raised. We car-ried out a study on sixty eight adult healthy volun-teers. The control group consisted of thirty four non-smokers and the test group was thirty four heavy smokers. The hemogram, interleukin-8 (IL-8) and MPO serum levels were measured. Neutrophil, mo-nocyte and lymphocyte counts were higher (p < 0.05) and the serum levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and MPO were fourfold higher in smokers than in non-smokers (n = 34, p < 0.05). This result correlated perfectly with the increased neutrophil count and IL-8 serum level that characterize smoking subjects. We propose that the high level of serum MPO could be directly involved in the higher prevalence of coronary artery diseases among heavy smokers