Effect of Smoking Habit on the Frequency of Micronuclei in in Exfoliated Oral Epithelial Cells and Comparative Image Analysis

Abstract

Background: Cigarette smoking represents the single largest preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in developed nations. Although smoking has historical roots in the late fifteenth century, it spread to Islamic societies primarily through early twentieth-century colonial influence. Established predictors of smoking initiation include peer and parental smoking, lower socioeconomic status, mental health vulnerability, and impulsivity; transition to regular smoking is further predicted by peer smoking and poor academic engagement. Biomarkers of genotoxicity biological parameters reflecting physiological or pathological status in individuals or populations have emerged as tools for evaluating tobacco-related cellular damage.

Objective: To evaluate genotoxic damage in cigarette smokers compared with nonsmoking controls using nuclear abnormality biomarkers. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional design was employed involving two groups: cigarette smokers and nonsmoking controls. Nuclear abnormalities were quantified as the primary biomarker of genotoxicity. Between-group differences were analysed using an independent samples t-test.

Results: The mean (±SD) total percentage of nuclear abnormalities was markedly higher in smokers (65.08 ± 17.48) compared with nonsmoking controls (10.35 ± 4.14). The difference between groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05) as determined by independent samples t-test.

Conclusion: Cigarette smoking is associated with substantially elevated levels of nuclear abnormalities, indicating significant genotoxic burden. These findings support the utility of nuclear abnormality biomarkers as sensitive indicators of tobacco-induced cellular damage and underscore the public health imperative of smoking prevention.