Body mass index, fibrinogen and factor VII activity in male smokers and non-smokers living in an Urban industrialized

Differences in haemostatic parameters have been reported among smokers and non-smokers. However
the relationships of these parameters with other risk factors of cardiovascular diseases have not been fully
determined in Nigerians. We therefore aimed at assessing the relationship between fibrinogen, factor VII (FVII),
age, body mass indeks (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in smokers
and non-smokers living in an Urban Nigerian city. We studied 104 male Nigerians grouped into non-smokers
(n= 74) and smokers (n= 30). Fibrinogen was measured using the clot weight method of Ingram and FVII was
assayed by the bioassay method. Mean fibrinogen and FVII were found to be higher in smokers than non-smokers.
There was no relationship between FVII and age (r= -0.0458) in non-smokers and a weak association
was found between FVII and age in smokers (r= 0.3191). Both SBP and DBP were significantly associated with
BMI in smokers (r= 0.6332, p= 0.0002) for DBP and (r= 0.4869, p= 0.0064) for SBP. Fibrinogen was only
associated with DBP in non-smokers (r= 0.3273, p= 0.0047). FVII and fibrinogen were found to be higher in
smokers compared to non- smokers, the difference was not statistically significant (p= 0.1965). The strength
of the association of BMI and fibrinogen with blood pressure is higher for DBP in Nigerians. Extensive population
studies should be conducted on smokers and non-smokers to confirm these associations.