Lipidomic Analysis of Hand Skin Surface Lipids Reveals Smoking-Related Skin Changes

Smoking contributes to the formation of skin wrinkles and reduces skin function, but the mechanism is not yet fully proven. This study aims to compare and analyze the effects of smoking on skin lipids and to further investigate the harmful effects of smoking on the skin. A total of 40 subjects (20 male smokers and 20 healthy control males) were recruited for this study. Measurement of hand skin-surface lipids (SSLs) in smoking and healthy control groups was undertaken using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Multivariate data analysis was used to investigate the differences in SSLs between the two groups. There were 1230 lipids detected in the two groups and significant differences in SSLs' composition were observed between them. Under selected conditions, 26 types of lipid with significant differences were observed between the two groups (p < 0.05). Sphingolipids (SP) and glycerolipids (GL) were significantly increased, and sterol lipids (ST) were significantly reduced. Smoking causes changes in skin lipids that disrupt skin homeostasis, making the skin more fragile and more susceptible to skin aging and diseases.