Gender-specific relationship of circulatory measures with waterpipe smoking: The Irbid WiHi project

Tobacco and hypertension can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the long-term effect of smoking, particularly waterpipe, on blood pressure (BP) is uncertain. Therefore, the current study compared heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulse pressures (PP), and rate pressure product (RPP) in waterpipe versus never smokers. Self-reported questionnaire and automatic oscillatory device were used to obtain smoking status and BP measures, respectively, in 250 women and 261 men aged 20–85 years. Of these, 277 were waterpipe smokers (144 men and 133 women). The 2*2 (smoking status*gender) ANCOVA showed greater (P < 0.01) HR and lower (P < 0.01) SBP, MAP, and PP in the men, but not the women, smoking waterpipe. In conclusion, the current results indicate that waterpipe smoking is associated with altered cardiovascular measures, especially in men.