Cigarette smoking as a factor influencing mineral content of head of femur in people with osteoporosis

Introduction: In bony specimens of the cancellous bone of the femoral head taken from smoking and not-smoking people content of the following ions were measured: lead, copper, cadmium, chromium, silver, zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. Material and methods: Bony specimens were collected from the patient with osteoporosis during hip replacement surgery. Examined population was divided into two groups: non-smokers (n=21, 20 women and 1 man, age 62,8 ± 17,2). Content of metal ions in the femoral head were measured using method AAS after microwave mineralization. Results: The contents of calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc and chromium were higher in non-smoking population, but cadmium, lead and copper – were observed in higher contents in smokers. The content of silver was equal in both examined groups. There was seen a correlation between contents of metal ions in the femoral head and the number of smoked cigarettes per day. Conclusions: We demonstrated negative influence of metal ions contained in cigarette smoke on bony tissue. There is a correlation between contents of metal ions in bony tissue and the number of smoked cigarettes per day.