Assessment of Some Inflammatory Chemokines and Oxidative Stress Markers in Iraqi Men Smokers

Abstract

Background: Chronic inflammation, oxidative imbalance, and immune dysregulation. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of these characteristics. Aside from its well-established systemic effects, smoking affects specific circulating chemokines and hematological indices indicative of both inflammatory and vascular risk. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate inflammatory chemokines, oxidative stress markers, and hematological parameters in Iraqi male smokers compared with non-smokers. Methodology: This case-control study was conducted in the Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, between May 2025 and December 2025. Iraqi males aged 20 to 65 years, including current smokers and non-smokers. Smokers had smoked regularly for at least five years. Smokers had smoked habitually for at least five years. We excluded participants with chronic cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, or autoimmune diseases. Venous blood was submitted for complete blood count (CBC) and serum analysis. Serum CXCL9, TARC (CCL17), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected by ELISA, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was determined by the FRAP-based colorimetric method. An automated hematology analyzer evaluated CBC parameters. Group comparisons were conducted using the independent samples t-test, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Smokers showed significantly higher total white blood cell counts (30-sample control non-smoker group vs 60-sample smoker objects group, p=0.05) and absolute lymphocyte counts (30-sample control non-smoker group vs 60-sample smoker objects group, p=0.05) than non-smokers. MID percentage was significantly lower in smokers (30 sample control non-smoker group vs 60 sample smoker objects group, p=0.05), whereas granulocyte-related measures were not significantly different (30 sample control non-smoker group vs 60 sample smoker objects group, p=0.05). Red cell indices were largely unchanged, although RDW-SD was higher and platelet count was lower in smokers. Smokers also had a significantly higher mean platelet volume and large cell ratio. There were no significant differences in serum MDA and TAC levels between groups. We found that CXCL9 was significantly increased in smokers compared to non-smokers, whereas TARC and ITAC were not significantly different. Conclusion: In Iraqi men, cigarette smoking was positively correlated with low-grade systemic inflammation and altered platelet profile, which was also reflected by selective upregulation of the chemokine CXCL9, consistent with a primarily Th1-skewed inflammatory response. By contrast, markers of oxidative stress had little change at a systemic level in this cohort. Bangladesh Journal of Infectious Diseases, June 2026;13(1):196-202