Smokers have higher risk of HIV

Smokers may be at greater risk of contracting HIV than non-smokers, a British study has warned.

Researchers from the South East Sheffield Primary Care Trust trawled through 13 academic research databases, three abstract databases from recent international AIDS conferences, as well as viewing relevant websites and contacting experts in the field.

Six studies assessed the association between cigarette smoking and becoming HIV positive.

Five of them concluded that smokers ran a greater risk of this varying from around 60 per cent to a more than tripling of the risk.

Ten further papers looked at the link between smoking and progression to AIDS, nine of them concluding that smokers were not at increased risk.

Lead researcher Dr Andrew Furber said: "The consistency of the findings is striking and represents a major strength of this review.

"While the studies vary in quality, they include reports of high quality investigations using large sample sizes."

Tobacco smoke may enhance vulnerability to infection by modifying the structure of the lungs and changing an array of immune system responses, including curbs on the production of antibodies and the activity of infection fighting white cells, according to Furber.

Previous research has linked smoking to a higher than normal chance of contracting other infections, including those that have been sexually transmitted.

There are almost 40 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS, and the global death toll of deaths related to tobacco is expected to reach 8.4 million in 2020.

Dr Furber suggests that as well as encouraging people to give up smoking as an essential public health measure, this may also contribute to the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention programmes.

source:www.999today.com