Correlation of urinary cotinine with cardiovascular risk factors in pan masala tobacco users

Tobacco consumption is considered as one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) morbidity. However, the effect of paan masala tobacco (PMT) (a type of smokeless tobacco) consumption has not been well studied in our context. Our study is aimed to find an association of CV risk factors between PMT users and nonusers and to correlate those parameters with urinary cotinine level, a degradation product of nicotine occurring in tobacco.

This comparative cross-sectional study was carried out among 200 participants. The effect of PMT use on CV risk factors such as blood pressure (BP), lipid profile, and body mass index was measured against urine cotinine level. Statistical tests used were χ² test for categorical variable, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman's correlation applied for numerical variable, and multivariate regression analysis was performed as required. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05.

Mean BP, total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and median cotinine level were found to be significantly higher in PMT users than in controls (p < 0.001). Urinary cotinine level was positively correlated with mean BP, TC, TG, and LDL-C in PMT users (p < 0.001). Similarly, the odds of having hypercholesterolemia and increased diastolic BP was also significantly higher in PMT users (p < 0.001).

PMT use has an adverse effect on CV risk parameters and there is a rational of cotinine measurement for screening CV risk among PMT users.