Chest
Tracheobronchial Histopathology in Habitual Smokers of Cocaine, Marijuana, and/or Tobacco*
Section snippets
Subjects
Male and female subjects 21 to 50 years of age were recruited for bronchoscopic study from a cohort of participants in an ongoing longitudinal study of the pulmonary effects of heavy, habitual smoking of marijuana and/or cocaine, with or without tobacco.8, 9 Participants in this study also included a comparison group of age-matched smokers of tobacco alone, as well as nonsmokers of similar age, residing in metropolitan Los Angeles. To be included in the bronchoscopic study, marijuana smokers
Results
Technically satisfactory biopsy specimens were obtained in 241 healthy volunteers (82.6% male; mean age, 35.4±8.3 [SD] years). Table 2 lists the number, gender, and mean age of the subjects in each smoking category and their frequency and duration of smoking marijuana, cocaine, and/or tobacco. Most subjects in all smoking categories were male. Smokers in all categories were slightly older than the nonsmokers, but smokers of cocaine, marijuana, and/or tobacco were of comparable age. Smokers of
Discussion
We performed and evaluated bronchial mucosal biopsy specimens in smokers of one or more of three commonly smoked substances (cocaine, marijuana, and tobacco), as well as in nonsmoking control subjects. Of the 241 biopsy specimens analyzed, 158 were new tissue samples (including samples from 73 smokers of cocaine alone or with marijuana and/or tobacco) not included in our previously published reports.5, 6, 7 Consistent with trends that were apparent from these earlier studies,5, 6, 7 results now
References (17)
- et al.
The pulmonary complications of crack cocaine: a comprehensive review
Chest
(1995) - et al.
Acute activation of circulating PM Ns following in vivo administration of cocaine: a potential etiology for pulmonary injury
Chest
(1997) - et al.
National survey results on drug abuse from The Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1993 (vol I and II)
(1994) Cigarette smoking and health
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
(1996)Is frequent marijuana smoking harmful to health? [editorial]
West J Med
(1993)- et al.
Tracheobronchial changes in habitual, heavy smokers of marijuana with and without tobacco
Am Rev Respir Dis
(1987) - et al.
Pulmonary pathology in marijuana smokers
- et al.
Effects of habitual use of marijuana and/or cocaine on the lung
Cited by (0)
Supported by NIDA/NIH grants RO1 DA08254 and RO1 03018.