EFFECT OF CIGARETTE-SMOKING ON PREVALENCE OF SUMMER-TYPE HYPERSENSITIVITY PNEUMONITIS CAUSED BY TRICHOSPORON-CUTANEUM

We investigated the effect of cigarette smoking on the prevalence of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis (SHP) caused by Trichosporon cutaneum. In the adult family members of SHP patients, we found that 27 of 41 (65.9%) nonsmokers were SHP patients, compared with 3 of 11 (27.3%) smokers (p < .05). Also, the prevalence of anti-T. cutaneum antibody was significantly lower in the smokers (p < .05). A questionnaire provided to 209 SHP patients revealed that the smoking rates of male and female SHP patients were significantly lower (p < .01) than rates in the normal Japanese population. However, no difference was found in serum anti-T. cutaneum antibody activities or the bronchoalveolar lavage lymphocyte phenotypes for smoking and nonsmoking SHP patients. It was concluded that cigarette smoking had a suppressive effect on the outbreak of SHP, but smoking caused no further suppression after the disease was established.