Cumulative tobacco consumption has a dose-dependent effect on atheromatosis burden and improves severe atheromatosis prediction in asymptomatic middle-aged individuals: The ILERVAS study.

Grupo de Investigación Translacional vascular y Renal, IRBLleida, Red de Investigación Renal (RedInRen. ISCIII), Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: mbermudez@irblleida.cat. Grupo de Investigación Translacional vascular y Renal, IRBLleida, Red de Investigación Renal (RedInRen. ISCIII), Lleida, Spain. Centre d'Atenció Primària Cappont. Gerència Territorial de Lleida, Institut Català de la Salut, Barcelona, Spain; Research Support Unit Lleida, Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gorina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain. Departament de Medicina Respiratòria, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Grup Recerca Translational Medicina Respiratòria, IRBLleida, Universitat de Lleida, Lleida, Spain; CIBER de enfermedades respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, Spain. Departament de Medicina Experimental, IRBLleida, Universitat de Lleida, Lleida, Spain. Departament d'Endocrinologia i Nutrició, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Grup de Recerca Obesitat i Metabolisme (ODIM), IRBLleida, Universitat de Lleida, Lleida, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Departament d'Endocrinologia i Nutrició, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain; Faculty of Medicine, University of Vic & Central University of Vic, Vic, Spain. Grupo de Investigación Translacional vascular y Renal, IRBLleida, Red de Investigación Renal (RedInRen. ISCIII), Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: josemanuel.valdivielso@udl.cat.

Atherosclerosis. 2023;:75-83
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Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Sex-specific impact of cumulative tobacco consumption (CTC) on atheromatosis extension and total plaque area remains unknown. We aimed to determine the impact of CTC in atheromatosis localization and burden. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional analysis in 8330 asymptomatic middle-aged individuals. 12-territory vascular ultrasounds in carotid and femoral arteries were performed to detect atheromatous plaque presence and to measure total plaque area. Adjusted regressions and conditional predictions by smoking habit or CTC (stratified in terciles as low (≤13.53), medium (13.54-29.3), and high (>29.3 packs-year)) were calculated. Severe atheromatosis (SA, ≥3 territories with atheroma plaque) was predicted with the Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation 2 (SCORE2) model. The improvement of SA prediction after adding CTC was evaluated. RESULTS CTC was associated with an increased risk of atheromatosis, stronger in femoral than in carotid artery, but similar in both sexes. A dose-dependent effect of CTC on the number of territories with atheroma plaque and total plaque area was observed. Addition of CTC to the SCORE2 showed a higher sensitivity, accuracy, and negative predictive value in males, and a higher specificity and positive predictive value in females. In both sexes, the new SCORE2-CTC model showed a significant increase in AUC (males: 0.033, females: 0.038), and in the integrated discrimination index (males: 0.072; females: 0.058, p < 0.001). Age and CTC were the most important clinical predictors of SA in both sexes. CONCLUSIONS CTC shows a dose-dependent association with atheromatosis burden, impacts more strongly in femoral arteries, and improves SA prediction.