Effect of smoking and smoking cessation on hematological parameters in polycythemic patients

The number of studies on the effect of smoking cessation interventions in polycythemic patients is limited. Our aim was to examine the effects of quitting smoking on hematological parameters in patients with polycythemia and to evaluate the outcomes of smoking cessation interventions in polycythemic patients.

The prospective study was conducted in the hematology outpatient clinic between November 2022 and May 2023. Patients with polycythemia were grouped according to their smoking status. Smoking cessation interventions were applied to current smokers. Blood parameters were compared according to smoking status at the baseline and third month follow up.

At first presentation, 65.4% (N = 93) of 142 patients were current smokers and 34.5% (N = 49) were non-smokers. Fifty-one percent (N = 47) of active smokers quit smoking at the 3-month follow-up after the intervention. Hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), mean corpuscular volume, very low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and immature granulocytes were found to be higher in active smokers compared to non-smokers at initial presentation (p < 0.05). Hb and Hct values decreased in smokers who quit smoking compared to baseline values at 3 months (p < 0.05).

Of the patients with polycythemia, 65% were current smokers and about half of them were successful in quitting smoking at 3 months with effective implementation of smoking cessation interventions.