The Effect of Smoking, Gender, Age, and the Body Mass Index on the Measurements of the Portal Vein Diameter

This study aimed to explore the effects of age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and smoking on the diameter of the portal vein (PV). This quantitative descriptive study included 113 participants (61.9% males and 38.1% females) who underwent sonography. The participants were selected via convenience sampling. Patients with known cardiac, liver, or biliary diseases were excluded. The PV of each participant was evaluated and measured using a 3.5 MHz transducer and a standard liver sonography imaging protocol. Statistical analyses were performed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, independent t-test, and Pearson correlations. Statistical significance was set at P < .05. The mean age of the participants was 38 ± 16 years (range = 15–86 years). The mean PV diameter and BMI were 9.6 ± 2 mm (range = 4.9–16 mm) and 26.22 ± 8.5 (range = 15.2–39.7), respectively. The mean PV diameter of the participants who did and did not smoke was 10.5 ± 2.3 mm and 9.25 ± 1.8 mm, respectively. The PV diameter showed statistically significant associations with smoking status, age, and BMI ( P = .01, .007, and .022, respectively). The findings of this study suggest that the PV diameter may increase with smoking, age, and BMI; however, no correlation was observed between the PV diameter and sex.