Gender-Specific Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Differences in Adolescents Smoking Cigarettes, Waterpipes or Both

Abstract

Background: The effect of concurrent cigarette and waterpipe (i.e. both) smoking on cardiovascular function is still a scarce, especially among adolescents. Objective: Therefore, the study aimed at comparing cardiovascular measures among adolescents smoking cigarettes, waterpipe, or both, versus never smoking. Methods: Self-reported smoking status and cardiovascular measures were obtained from 771 boys (n = 475) and girls (n = 296) in the 7th–10th grade. Results: Stepwise regression showed that smoking explained (p < .05) 4.8% of heart rate, 6.1% of diastolic blood pressure, 3.9% of mean arterial pressure, 2.8% of pulse pressure, and 4.0% of rate pressure products. The gender-stratified one-way (4 smoking group) ANCOVA revealed greater (p < .05) heart rate and diminished (p < .05) diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and rate pressure product in the boys smoking cigarettes, waterpipe, or both versus the ones never smoked, but not in the girls. No differences (p > .05) were found between the smoking groups (cigarettes, waterpipe, versus both). Conclusions: The study indicates that cardiovascular measures are equally altered among the boys, but not the girls, smoking cigarettes, waterpipe, or both as compared to the ones never smoked.

Keywords:

• Waterpipe smoking
• Irbid-TRY
• adolescents
• blood pressure
• heart rate

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to convey their appreciation to the students and parents for participating in the study. In addition, the authors would like to thank the teachers and principals for the administrative help.

Declaration of interest

No conflicts of interest to report.

Additional information

Funding

The present study was funded by Deanship of Scientific Research at the University of Science and Technology Granted to Professor Mahmoud Alomari (Fund Number 173/2017) and Dr. Nihaya Al-Sheyab (Fund Number 90/2015).