CIGARETTE-SMOKING AND ORAL-CONTRACEPTIVE USE INFLUENCE WOMENS LIPID, LIPOPROTEIN, AND CARDIOVASCULAR-RESPONSES DURING STRESS

Investigated the effects of behavioral stress and smoking cigarettes on the lipid, lipoprotein, neuroendocrine, and cardiovascular responses of female smokers who either used or did not use oral contraceptives (OC). Thirty-five healthy female smokers (20 of whom used OC) relaxed, smoked, or sham smoked and then prepared, delivered, and reviewed a speech presented in front of a video camera. Results show that behavioral stress increased total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, and free fatty acid levels, with significant increases in cholesterol, LDL-C, and free fatty acids apparent only among women who smoked during the session. In addition, OC users exhibited larger increases in triglyceride and blood pressure responses during stress than did nonusers whether or not they smoked during the protocol. Possible physiological mechanisms for each of the effects, as well as implications of the findings for understanding epidemiological associations among OC use, smoking, and coronary heart disease in women are discussed.; 35 females smokers, of whom 20 had taken combined oral contraceptives for 6 months or more, participated in a study of the effect of smoking and social stress on cardiovascular response, catecholamines and lipoproteins. The stress consisted of giving a 4-minute videotaped extemporaneous speech, after smoking 1 cigarette or sham-smoking. Testing was done in the luteal phase or on Days 15-22 of a pill cycle, after an overnight fast without smoking. Neither smoking nor stress affected catecholamines. Blood pressures and heart rate increased significantly during speech preparation, delivery and review in all subjects; and during inhalation in smoking women. Oral contraceptive users had higher baseline levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides, and their cholesterol and triglycerides increased more than did nonusers during the speech, triglycerides significantly so. Pill users also had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure increases during delivery of the speech than did nonusers. This study corroborates previous reports that smoking increases cardiovascular responses additively to stress, and is the first report higher increases in triglycerides and cholesterol during stress in pill users.