How does smoking affect HIV-positive people?

Smoking cigarettes leads to more serious inflammatory processes in the body of patients with HIV infection, researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst have found.

The research results were published in the AIDS and Behavior journal.

Krishna Poudel, Associate Professor of Community Health Education at the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, and colleagues reported a positive linear relationship between the intensity, duration, and a number of years of smoking and inflammation in HIV-infected people.

The researchers said this is the first rigorous study of specific smoking-related variables with inflammation levels in this group, taking into account patients' intake of highly active antiretroviral therapy and other important factors.

Research results show that people living with HIV will benefit from not only quitting smoking but also smoking less if they are unable to quit right away.

According to Pudel, high levels of inflammation are associated with an increased risk of illness and death in people living with HIV.

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