Ricerc@Sapienza

Tobacco habit represents the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with a significant impact on all phases of the atherothrombotic disease process finally leading to cardiovascular (CV) events. The devastating cardiovascular complications involve children and adults.
Children exposed to passive cigarette smoking have a higher risk to develop CV events in adulthood; oxidative stress generated by cigarette smoke increases CV events through endothelial dysfunction, increased intimal-medial thickening (IMT) and platelet (PLT) activation.
Heat-not-burn cigarettes (HNBC) (IQOS trade mark, Philip Morris Inc.) are considered a preferable alternative to conventional cigarettes due to the lack of combustion and the absence of combustion correlated specific toxicants. It is unclear the long-term vascular safety of HNBC. Furthermore, no study reported the effect of HNBC passive smoking in children.
To analyze these issues, in this research we want:
1) compare the chronic impact of HNBC vs traditional tobacco cigarettes on endothelial function, oxidative stress and PLT activation in healthy adult smokers
2) compare endothelial function, oxidative stress and PLT activation in children exposed to passive HNBC smoking vs passive cigarette smoking and controls.

In the first phase we will performed an observational study in 60 healthy subjects: 20 self-reporting chronic use of HNBC, 20 self-reporting chronic use of traditional cigarettes and 20 non-smokers. For each subject blood samples for oxidative stress and PLT activation analysis and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) evaluation will be performed.
In the second phase of the study 60 children: 20 exposed to HBNC, 20 to passive cigarette smoking and 20 not-exposed. All the children will undergo to FMD and blood analysis to test endothelial function,oxidative stress and PLT activation.