Double-blind study on the effect of cigarette smoking on the chromosomes of human peripheral blood lymphocytes in vivo.

A double-blind study with 170 smokers and 124 non-smokers revealed a doubling of the frequencies of exchange-type aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of smokers as compared with non-smokers. Smokers (N = 24) had 1 SCE more per metaphase than non-smokers (N = 20), an effect that is significant but low when compared with the effect on structural chromosomal aberrations. These results show that structural chromosomal aberrations are better indicators of the genetical effects of low chronic exposures to mutagens in man than SCEs. The frequencies of micronuclei in 3-day lymphocyte cultures showed no differences in smokers (N = 95) and non-smokers (N = 39). Non-smokers (N = 99) had significantly higher frequencies of 2nd metaphases in 48-h cultures in vitro than smokers (N = 141), indicating an effect of smoking on the stimulation of lymphocytes by PHA in vitro.