Respiratory allergies in young adult male smokers and non-smokers

Background: smoking is a well-known trigger of asthma. Therefore, doctors should be alert for smok-ers with respiratory allergies. Aim: to compare the severity of respiratory allergy course, pollen and house dust sensiti-zation, and laboratory and instrumental tests in young adult male smokers and non-smokers. Patients and Methods: a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 249 men aged 16–27 years with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma was performed. Patients were examined on the basis of the standard of medical care for adults with asthma. Allergic examination included skin tests and allergen-specific IgE measurement. Results: 249 patients were divided into 2 groups: smokers (n=62) and non-smokers (n=187). The mean age of smokers and non-smokers was 19.3±0.5 and 18.6±0.3 years, respectively. The median smoking history was 2.0 [1.0; 4.0] years. Allergic asthma was more common in smokers (93.5%) than in non-smokers (89.3%). No differences in the rate of allergic rhinitis were reported. Comparative cross-sectional analysis of examination results in young patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma has demonstrated that positive tests for tree pollen and house dust prevail in both groups. No differences in sensitization between smokers and non-smokers were reported. The mean spirometry values in smokers were lower than those in non-smokers. Bron-chodilator coefficient calculated by forced expiratory volume in 1 s correlated with absolute eosinophil count only in smokers. Conclusions: no significant differences in the severity of allergic rhinitis and asthma, sen-sitization to pollen and house dust, peripheral blood eosinophil counts, and total serum IgE levels were reported between young smokers and non-smokers. KEYWORDS: smoking, asthma, allergic rhinitis, electronic cigarettes, traditional cigarettes. FOR CITATION: Devyatkova E.A., Minaeva N.V., Tarasova M.V., Shelud'ko V.S., Plotnikova E.Yu. Respiratory allergies in young adult male smokers and non-smokers. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2023;7(8):482–487 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2023-7-8-2.