Smokers could be at greater risk of HIV infection

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Smoking tobacco could be a risk factor for HIV infection, according to a new study.
Smoking has already been linked to an increased risk of infections, including sexually transmitted infections. Now researchers have reviewed data on HIV, drawing on research presented at international AIDS conferences and other academic findings. They found six studies that assessed the possible association between cigarette smoking and becoming HIV positive.

Five of these studies concluded that smokers ran a greater risk of HIV infection - ranging from a 60 per cent increase to a trebling of the risk. Ten other papers looked at the link between smoking and progression to AIDS and nine of these showed that smokers were not at increased risk. The researchers wonder if tobacco smoke might modify the structure of the lungs thereby changing an array of immune responses, such as decreasing the production of antibodies and the activity of T cells. Therefore it is possible that smoking cessation may protect people from HIV infection.

Source
Sexually Transmitted Infections online 20th September 2006