Quit Smoking For Better Lungs and Longer Life
June 16th, 2009 | by admin |Reuters Health
|
|
NEW YORK — Scientists in Finland have conducted a study offering more proof that quitting smoking is not only good for your lungs but can lead to a longer life.
“In this study, never smokers, past smokers, those who quit smoking permanently or intermittently lost less of their (lung) function in later adult life than continuous smokers,” lead author Dr. Margit Pelkonen of the University of Kuopio in Finland and colleagues report in the September issue of the journal Thorax.
And those with the greatest decline in lung function were most likely to die of any cause, the team found. “Too much emphasis cannot be given to the importance of smoking cessation,” the researchers write.
The investigators followed 1,007 Finnish men for 30 years, beginning in 1959. All underwent medical examinations six times during the study period. Exams included a test called forced expiratory volume 0.75 (FEV 0.75), which measures the amount of air a person can expel from their lungs in 0.75 seconds. The men were also surveyed about their smoking habits. The researchers evaluated the death certificates of the men who died during the study.
Men who had never smoked had the smallest decline in lung function, with a FEV 0.75 that declined 46.4 milliliters per year. The men who smoked continuously throughout the study had the largest decline, with a drop of 66.0 milliliters each year. Past quitters, permanent quitters, and intermittent quitters had declines in lung function that fell between the two extremes.
Men who experienced the fastest decline in lung function were the most likely to die during the study.
“An increased decline in pulmonary (lung) function can lead to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and it also seems to be a risk factor for mortality,” Pelkonen and colleagues write.
COPD–a lung condition marked by progressive breathing difficulties–affects at least 16 million people and is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The risk of COPD and the odds of having an abnormal lung test are much higher in people who smoke cigarettes compared with people who have never smoked.
SOURCE: Thorax
