Age Trends in the Association between Smoking and Biomarkers.

<p>A cross-over effect was found when comparing HDL by smoking status and age (a) with non-smokers having higher HDL at younger ages, and smokers having higher HDL at older ages. For CRP, leukocyte number, monocyte number, lymphocyte number, and granulocyte number the difference between smokers and non-smokers was largest for subjects in their fifties (b–f). However, these differences appeared to converge with age and were not significantly different for CRP, monocyte number, lymphocyte number, and granulocyte number after age 80. Finally, FEV1/FVC was lower for non-smokers across the age range, and remained statistically significant (g).