Abstract:
Objective: To compare the toxic effects of cigarette and water pipe/shisha smoking on hematological parameters such as hemoglobin (Hb) and Total Leukocyte Count (TLC) and also on serum Triglycerides levels (TAG) in BALB/c mice. Study Design: Experimental randomized controlled study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Islamic International Medical College, department of Anatomy in collaboration with National Institute of Health. Duration of the study was six months, from October 1 2013 till March 30 2014. Materials and Methods: Forty adult male mice of strain BALB/c were obtained from National Institute of Health and were randomly divided into three groups. They were kept in whole body smoke exposure chamber.Control group C was exposed to fresh air. Cigarette smoke group CS and Shisha/water pipe smoke group SS were exposed to cigarette and water pipe smoke respectively in separate chambers for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture in separately labeled test tubes. Blood was analyzed for hematological parameters including Hemoglobin and Total Leucocyte count and also Triglycerides and results were compared among three experimental groups. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Mean ± S.D was used for quantitative hematological and biochemical parameters. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Average hemoglobin was 11.95 ± 0.792 g/dl in control group C, 13.80 ± 1.095 g/dl in group CS and13.66 ± 1.349 g/dl in group SS. Control group had significantly lower average hemoglobin as compared to group CS (p<0.05) and group SS (p<0.05). Average serum Triglyceride level was 102.50 ± 31.785 mg/dl in control group, 127.80 ± 13.487 mg/dl in group CS and 147.00 ± 18.326 mg/dl in group SS. All the groups were significantly different from each other (p<0.05). Median Total Leukocyte count was 5900/μl (IQR: 5150-6875 /μl) in control group, 5200/ μl (IQR: 4200 – 7200/μl) in group CS and 9900/μl (5300 – 13300/μl) in group SS. Difference among three groups was significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Water pipe smoking is more toxic than cigarette smoking in terms of its adverse effects on Hemoglobin, Total Leukocyte Count and Serum Triglycerides levels.
