Correlation between Cigarette Smoking and Blood Pressure and Pulse Pressure among Teachers Residing in Shiraz, Southern Iran

Background: Hypertension (HTN) affects nearly 26% of the adult population worldwide. Assessment of factors which influence blood pressure is a major topic for public health. One of these preventable risk factors is smoking.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 3115 (1842 [59.1%] females) teachers from Shiraz. The participants aged between 21 and 73 years. A questionnaire was used to collect data on several cardiovascular disease risk factors including smoking and blood pressure.

Results: The prevalence of smoking in our study group was 5.85%; 1.52% of the studied participants were ex-smokers. The prevalence of pre-HTN and HTN (JNC VII) was 42.6% and 18.2%, respectively. HTN was more prevalent among men and elderly people. Pre-HTN was more prevalent in smokers but HTN was more frequent in non-smokers. The mean rang of systolic and diastolic HTN, and pulse pressure was greater in heavy smokers than those who smoked <20 packs year, although the difference was not statically significant.

Conclusion: The relation between the smoking status and blood pressure is not yet obvious. However, it seems that cessation or at least reduction in the amount of smoking would significantly decrease blood pressure.