Bronchiolar Inflammation and Fibrosis Associated with Smoking: A Morphologic Cross-Sectional Population Analysis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Adesina AM ; Craighead JE ; Mcquillen EN ; Vallyathan V ; Weaver SO
• Description:
  The lungs of 42 smokers and 13 nonsmoking males of various ages who died suddenly and unexpectedly were examined grossly using Gough-Wentworth whole-lung sections and by microscopic planimetry to assess the severity and prevalence of emphysema. The bronchioles in representative histologic sections were evaluated for inflammation and epithelial metaplasia as well as for fibrosis and muscular hypertrophy. Postmortem interviews with next of kin established a history of cigarette smoking and excluded possible occupational exposures to toxic or particulate inhalants. Emphysematous changes were not prominent in members of the study group, but they tended to be more severe in smokers (p = 0.059) and increased in severity with age (p less than 0.001). Inflammatory changes (so-called smoker's bronchiolitis) were evident in smokers of all ages, although they were significantly less prominent in the lungs of older smokers. On the other hand, respiratory and membranous bronchiolar wall fibrosis was increasingly evident in older smokers (p less than 0.05). Muscular hypertrophy in the bronchiolar walls was significantly greater in smokers, but a change with age was not observed. These findings strongly suggest that bronchiolar fibrosis is associated with chronic cigarette use. These lesions occur independently of emphysema and may account for some of the subtle physiologic alterations observed in smokers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Fibrosis Lung Lung Diseases Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Smoke Smokers Tobacco Products

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• Keywords:
  Bronchial-cancer Cancer Cigarette-smoking Exposure-levels Lung-cancer Morphology Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Smoke-inhalation Smoking Tobacco-smoke

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• ISSN:
  0003-0805
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Vermont ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  144-149
• Volume:
  143
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20025281
• Citation:
  Am Rev Respir Dis 1991 Jan; 143(1):144-149
• Contact Point Address:
  John E. Craighead, M.D., Department of Pathology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Review of Respiratory Disease
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5cf0fdc37f7b983bafeda241584c80045459a8f93a0d2c79b7251df86e03bff4ba4ac7342cc85b4f65a5e7010953990bc184d2064a6407352b8f92492a153f78
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196727/cdc_196727_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 852.79 KB ]