• Rafaella Fagundes Xavier, Dionei Ramos, Juliana Tiyaki Ito, Fernanda Maria Machado Rodrigues, Giovana Navarro Bertolini, Mariangela Macchione, Alessandra Choqueta de Toledo, and Ercy Mara Cipulo Ramos.
• Department of Physiotherapy, São Paulo State University, Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Respiration. 2013 Jan 1;86(6):479-85.

BackgroundSmoking impairs mucociliary clearance and increases respiratory infection frequency and severity in subjects with and without smoking-related chronic lung diseases.ObjectiveThis study evaluated the effects of smoking intensity on mucociliary clearance in active smokers.MethodsSeventy-five active smokers were grouped into light (1-10 cigarettes/day; n = 14), moderate (11-20 cigarettes/day; n = 34) and heavy smokers (≥21 cigarettes/day; n = 27) before starting a smoking cessation programme. Smoking behaviour, nicotine dependence, pulmonary function, carbon monoxide in exhaled air (exCO), carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) and mucociliary clearance measured by the saccharin transit time (STT) test were all evaluated. An age-matched non-smoker group (n = 24) was assessed using the same tests.ResultsModerate (49 ± 7 years) and heavy smokers (46 ± 8 years) had higher STT (p = 0.0001), exCO (p < 0.0001) and COHb (p < 0.0001) levels compared with light smokers (51 ± 15 years) and non-smokers (50 ± 11 years). A positive correlation was observed between STT and exCO (r = 0.4; p < 0.0001), STT and cigarettes/day (r = 0.3, p = 0.02) and exCO and cigarettes/day (r = 0.3, p < 0.01).ConclusionSmoking impairs mucociliary clearance and is associated with cigarette smoking intensity.Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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