Smoking without exception adversely affects vascular structure and function in apparently healthy Chinese: implications in global atherosclerosis prevention.

Background: Both active and passive smoking are prevalent in China but cardiovascular diseases were less prevalent in the past. We studied the current relationship between surrogate atherosclerosis markers and smoking in Chinese.

Methods: Endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of brachial artery and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were measured non-invasively by ultrasound in 616 apparently healthy Chinese (23% smokers), recruited from greater China and the USA.