Smoking and Abnormalities in Renal Function
Authors: Stephen J. Jay
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2001)

Letters3 July 2001Smoking and Abnormalities in Renal FunctionStephen J. Jay, MDStephen J. Jay, MDIndiana University School of Medicine; Indianapolis, IN 46202 (Jay)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-135-1-200107030-00034 SectionsAboutVisual AbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Pinto-Sietsma and colleagues (1) found that smoking was associated with albuminuria and abnormal renal function in nondiabetic patients. This fine report adds to a body of evidence showing that tobacco smoking causes structural and functional abnormalities in the kidneys, increases the risks for primary and secondary renal disease, hastens end-stage renal failure, and worsens the outcome for patients receiving dialysis and for recipients of kidney transplants (2). However, neither Pinto-Sietsma and colleagues nor other recent authors have cited early studies that strongly suggested that the kidneys were a target for the adverse effects of tobacco smoking.Researchers in the 1800s observed effects of tobacco and nicotine on renal structure and function. By the early 1900s, reviews of tobacco-related diseases included information that linked cigarette smoking and renal dysfunction (3, 4). In the famous 1964 Report of the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health (5), among prospective studies in which mortality ratios (MRs) for nephritis were analyzed, the median MRs among smokers and former smokers were 1.5 and 1.1, respectively. These MRs, although unadjusted for passive smoking, were similar to median MRs for coronary artery disease (MR, 1.7), cancer of the kidney (MR, 1.4), and cerebrovascular disease (MR, 1.3). The relationships between tobacco smoking and these vascular and neoplastic diseases have been studied extensively over the past 35 years; however, despite 100 years' worth of evidence about the adverse effects of tobacco smoke and nicotine on the kidneys, the findings in the 1964 report were largely ignored.One can only speculate why researchers failed to investigate the renal effects of smoking until recently. The good news is that active research into basic mechanisms and therapeutic interventions related to tobacco smoking and kidney disease has finally begun (2).References1. Pinto-Sietsma S, Mulder J, Janssen W, Hillege H, de Zeeuw D, de Jong P. Smoking is related to albuminuria and abnormal renal function in nondiabetic persons. Ann Intern Med. 2000;133:585-91. [PMID: 11033585] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Sessa A, Conte F, Meroni M, Battini G, eds. Cigarette Smoking and the Kidney. Series: Contributions to Nephrology, vol. 130. New York: Karger; 2000. Google Scholar3. Kellogg JH. Tobaccoism. Battle Creek, MI: Modern Medicine Publishing; 1922. Google Scholar4. Lickint F. Tabak und Organismus; Handbuch der gesamten Tabakkunde. Stuttgart: Hippokrates; 1939. Google Scholar5. . Summary of the Report of the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health. U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; 1964. Google Scholar Comments0 CommentsSign In to Submit A Comment Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Indiana University School of Medicine; Indianapolis, IN 46202 (Jay) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSmoking Is Related to Albuminuria and Abnormal Renal Function in Nondiabetic Persons Sara-Joan Pinto-Sietsma , Jaap Mulder , Wilbert M.T. Janssen , Hans L. Hillege , Dick de Zeeuw , and Paul E. de Jong Smoking and Abnormalities in Renal Function Sara-Joan Pinto-Sietsma , Wilbert M.T. Janssen , and Paul E. de Jong Smoking and Abnormalities in Renal Function Philip S. Mehler and Raymond Estacio Metrics Cited ByCarrier Generation in Layered Organic Photoconductors on Azo Pigment. 3 July 2001Volume 135, Issue 1Page: 67-68KeywordsKidneysNicotineProspective studiesRenal cancerRenal diseasesRenal failureRisk managementStable coronary artery diseaseSurgeonsVascular diseases ePublished: 3 July 2001 Issue Published: 3 July 2001 CopyrightCopyright © 2001 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...