Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke in Smokers Is Related to Plasma Levels of Inflammation-Sensitive Proteins.

Background— The extent to which differences in cardiovascular risk between smokers with similar daily tobacco consumption may be related to plasma levels of inflammation-sensitive proteins (ISP) and whether these proteins are associated with levels of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb%) have not been clarified. Methods and Results— In a population-based cohort of 1489 never smokers, 1685 former smokers, and 2901 current smokers, aged 28 to 61 years, plasma levels of orosomucoid ({alpha}1-acid glycoprotein), {alpha}1-antitrypsin, haptoglobin, fibrinogen, and ceruloplasmin were measured. COHb% levels were available for 2098 of them. Incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death were monitored over 18.7±4.7 years. The proportion with high ISP levels (ie, >=2 ISP in the top quartile) increased progressively with daily tobacco consumption (P<0.01) and COHb% (P