English scientists and archaeologists have identified discernible differences in bone composition between cigarette users and non-smokers.
- Experts have discovered bone changes that occurred in Europeans after the introduction of tobacco in the 16th century.
- In the study, 45 discriminatory molecular features that differ between tobacco users and non-smokers were identified.
- Future research aims to determine how these differences arise to “understand why smoking is a risk factor for certain musculoskeletal and dental disorders.”
“Tobacco use affects human health, but no research has examined its effects on the bone metabolome, or whether changes are noticeable after long postmortem intervals,” said archaeologists and researchers from the University of Leicester (England). This is why they decided to examine, as part of a study, human osteoarchaeological remains, because they preserve small molecules, which makes it possible to analyze past pathological and health conditions, including diseases associated with tobacco use.
The skeletons of 323 deceased smokers and non-smokers were inspected
To carry out the work, published in the journal Science Advancesexperts inspected 323 people. These include 177 adults from St James’s Garden Cemetery in Euston, London, dating from the 18th to the 19th century. There were also 146 individuals from a rural church cemetery at Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire. The skeletal remains were those of patients who lived before the introduction of tobacco to Europe (1150-1500 AD) and others who lived after (1500-1855 AD). The team examined their cortical bone, the dense tissue that makes up the outer layer of bones and gives them strength, to identify molecular differences in the bone metabolome between cigarette users and non-smokers.
Tobacco consumption leaves a metabolic trace in human cortical bone
The authors found that tobacco consumption left metabolic traces in human cortical bone that are still visible after long postmortem periods. More precisely, “We identified 45 discriminative molecular features that differ between tobacco users (15 upregulated features) and non-users (17 upregulated features).” According to the lead author of the research, Sarah Inskipthis potentially shows that it is possible to see the impact of smoking on the structure of skeletons. “Our ongoing research aims to determine how these differences arise, as this may shed light on why smoking is a risk factor for certain musculoskeletal and dental disorders.”
