Abstract

Smoking can increase oxidative stress and thereby change the antioxidant defense system in the body. To investigate the relationship between male adolescent smoking and antioxidant status, we surveyed the eating habits and dietary intake of 82 smokers and 44 nonsmokers recruited from a male technical high school. In addition, antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid peroxide values were determined in both the plasma and the erythrocytes. Although the frequency of food intake was not significantly different, most nutrient intake was unexpectedly higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. In comparison with the Korean RDA, especially the average intake of Ca, Fe and vitamin B2 didn't reach 75% of the Korean RDA in either smokers or nonsmokers. An analysis of antioxidant enzyme activity showed that plasma catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px), erythrocyte catalase and GSH-px activities showed no significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers. However, the erythrocyte SOD activity of smokers (1.57 unit/mgHb) was significantly lower than that of nonsmokers (2.00 unit/mgHb). In addition, the plasma ceruloplasmin concentration of smokers (28.68 mg/dl) was significantly higher than that of nonsmokers (26.30 mg/dl), whereas the specific ceruloplasmin ferroxidase activity of smokers (0.31 unit/mg) was lower than that of nonsmokers (0.35 unit/mg). The plasma and erythrocyte thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) of smokers (2.57 micromol/L, 0.32 micromol/gHb) were also significantly higher than those of nonsmokers (2.25 micromol/L, 0.27 micromol/gHb). The overall data indicate that adolescent smoking might decrease the antioxidant capacity of the body, in part, by lowering the erythrocyte SOD activity and the specific ceruloplasmin ferroxidase activity.

• Keywords: adolescent smoking; erythrocyte; antioxidant enzymes; lipid peroxidation