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Age and Cigarette Smoking are Independently Associated with the Cutaneous Vascular Response to Local Warming
Author(s) -
Avery Miriam R,
Voegeli David,
Byrne Christopher D,
Simpson David M,
Clough Geraldine F
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
microcirculation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.793
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1549-8719
pISSN - 1073-9688
DOI - 10.3109/10739680903199194
Subject(s) - medicine , area under the curve , analysis of variance , body mass index , laser doppler velocimetry , physiology , blood flow
Purpose : To investigate the relative impacts of age and cigarette smoking on cutaneous blood flow and flowmotion. Experimental Design : Skin blood flux was measured before and during the hyperaemic response to thermal warming of the skin to 43°C using laser Doppler fluximetry (LDF) in 28 habitual smokers (5.4 [11.4] (median [IQR]) pack years; pack years = packs/day X duration of smoking habit), aged between 18 and 63 years and their age, sex and body mass index. flowmotion was assessed using Fourier analysis of the LDF signal. Results : Mean and total hyperaemic (area under the flux curve, AUC 10 ) response during warming were reduced in smokers compared with their non‐smoking controls ( P <0.05). Attenuation of the response to warming in smokers was associated with a reduction in relative spectral power around 0.01 Hz, reflecting a reduced endothelial/metabolic activity ( P <0.04). In regression modelling with AUC 10 as the outcome, and smoking (yes/no), age, sex and BMI, as explanatory variables, age ( P <0.0001) and smoking ( P =0.018) were independently associated with the hyperaemic response and together accounted for 31% of the variance in AUC 10 . Conclusions : Age and smoking are associated with approximately one‐third of the variance in the endothelium‐associated microvascular vasomotor activity in habitual smokers.