Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Biochemistry (not Cell and Molecular Biology and Genetics)
Session: 1
Taylor Hammonds - University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Co-Author(s): Dana Carroll, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Blacks have higher rates of smoking-related diseases than Whites. Exposure to tobacco toxicants is the first step to developing smoking-related disease. We hypothesized that Black smokers would have higher levels of tobacco-related exposure than Whites. Baseline urine from a RCT of adult smokers were analyzed for the following urinary biomarkers of exposure: total nicotine equivalents(TNE), 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol and its glucuronides(total NNAL), 3-hydroxypropylmercapturic acid(3-HPMA), 2-hydroxypropylmercapturic acid(2-HPMA), 3-hydroxy-1-methylpropylmercapturic acid(HMPMA), S-phenylmercapturic acid(SPMA), 2-cyanoethylmercapturic acid(CEMA), and phenanthrene tetraol(PheT). Levels of overall and per cigarette were summarized by race using geometric means adjusted for age, gender, BMI, menthol, and duration of smoking. Statistical significance was considered at a p<0.05. Compared to Whites, Blacks smoked fewer cigarettes per day (20 vs 15) and had lower TNE levels (64.5 vs 47.7 nmol/mg/creatine). Whites and Blacks did not differ in TNE per cigarette (3.7 vs 3.5 nmol/mg/creatine). Whites had higher levels than Blacks of total NNAL, 3-HPMA, 2-HPMA, HMPMA, SPMA, CEMA, and PheT. Per cigarette, Whites and Blacks did not differ in the majority of the biomarkers. The higher exposure among Whites was driven by Whites consuming more cigarettes per day. Higher rates of tobacco-related disease observed among Blacks is likely not due to exposure. Additional factors along the pathway to disease that occur after exposure, such as detoxification or DNA repair, should be examined.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): Sponsored by NIH NIDA 1R25DA039074-01A1 Summer Research Program for Diversity Students in pharmacoNeuroImmunology PI's: Dr. Thomas Molitor & Sabita Roy. Funding was also provided by U54 DA031659 (PI: Hatsukami).
Faculty Advisor: Dorothy Hatsukami, hatsu001@umn.edu
Role: Secondary analysis, Linear regression models were used to estimate biomarker levels overall and per cigarette across race via geometric means.