Introduction:Smoking causes hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and blockage of small arteries, which is a direct cause of morbidity and mortality from stroke and heart attack. This study was conducted to determine the risk of atherosclerosis-related diseases in male smokers.

Goal:To determine the relationship between carotid artery stenosis in men and certain risk factors (age, smoking, blood pressure, and blood biochemical parameters).

Material and Method:The study was conducted in a hospital-based case-control study design. It involved 140 men aged 40-60, smokers (n=70) in the case group, and non-smokers (n=70) in the control group.

Result:When considering the average values of blood biochemical test parameters by age group, HDL levels were 1.50±0.33 mmol/l in the smoking group aged 40-49 and 1.30±0.29 mmol/l in the 50-60 age group (p<0.016), while in the non-smoking group (1.51±0.33, 1.37±0.34, p<0.05), which statistically significantly decreased with age. The mean blood triglyceride level was 1.36±0.54 mmol/L in men who smoked ≤10 cigarettes per day (n=36) and 1.75±0.77 mmol/L in men who smoked ≥10 cigarettes per day (n=34), which was statistically significant (p<0.006). When considering the parameters of atherosclerosis by age group, the average IMT in smokers was 0.59±0.09 mm in the 40-49 age group and 0.70±0.19 mm in the 50-60 age group (p<0.001), while in non-smokers it was (0.57±0.08 mm, 0.61±0.13 mm, p<0.004), indicating that the thickness of the vascular wall increased with age in both groups with statistical significance.

Conclusion:Carotid artery atherosclerosis is strongly age-related, and long-term smoking accelerates the process of atherosclerosis. Blood LDL levels decrease with age, especially in smokers, and they decrease more than in nonsmokers. People who smoke ≥10 cigarettes per day have higher blood LDL levels.