Lower immunity to tetanus in cigarette smoker subjects

Background: cigarette smoking has been linked with the suppression of immune responses and increased susceptibility to numerous infections in humans. tetanus is also a major public health problem in many countries. the aim of the present study was to evaluate the serum levels of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in cigarette smoking and healthy non-smoking people. materials and methods: a total of 100 cigarette smokers and 100 age-matched healthy non-smoker individuals were enrolled in this descriptive study. a blood sample was collected from each participant. the samples were tested for the levels of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies by use of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. results: the seroprotective rate of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in non-smoking group (99%) was significantly higher than that observed in cigarette smoking group (78%, p < 0.0001). the mean titer of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in non-smoking group (5.32± 0.26 iu/ml) was also significantly higher than that in smoker subjects (1.03 ± 0.16 iu/ml; p < 0.0001). the mean titer of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in individuals with smoking duration > 10 years was significantly lower than that among smokers with smoking duration ?10 years (0.59 ± 0.12 iu/ml vs 1.98 ± 0.41 iu/ml; p < 0.001). the seroprotection rate was also significantly lower in persons with smoking duration > 10 years in comparison to smokers with smoking duration ?10 years (72.1% vs 90.6%; p=0.037). the mean titer of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in individuals with daily smoking > 10 cigarettes was also significantly lower in comparison to smokers with daily smoking ?10 cigarettes (0.68 ± 0.15 iu/ml vs 1.63 ± 0.36 iu/ml; p < 0.001). conclusion: these results showed lower levels of anti-tetanus toxin antibodies in cigarette smokers which represents cigarette smoking as a risk factor for susceptibility to tetanus. a negative association was also observed between the immunity to tetanus and smoking burden.