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| Credit: http://i.usatoday.net |
Smokers increase their risk of myocardial infarction (heart
attack) and stroke with every cigarette they smoke.
Conversely, those who quit smoking even at an advanced age
will have a considerable decrease in their risk after a very short time.
Professor Hermann Brenner and colleagues at the German Cancer
Research Center
(Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) analyzed the data of 8.807 individuals
aged between 50 and 74 years using data of Saarland citizens.
In their evaluation, the scientists also took account of the
effects of other factors such as age, gender, alcohol consumption, education
and physical exercise as well as blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol levels,
body height and weight.
“We were able to show that the risk of smokers for
cardiovascular diseases is more than twice that of non-smokers. However, former
smokers are affected at almost the same low rate as people of the same age who
never smoked,” says Brenner. “Moreover, smokers are affected at a significantly
younger age than individuals who have never smoked or have stopped smoking.”
For example, a 60-year-old smoker has the same risk of
myocardial infarction as a 79-year-old non-smoker and the same risk of stroke
as a 69-year-old non-smoker. Dose and duration of tobacco consumption also have
an impact on disease risk. The more cigarettes a smoker consumes per day over a
prolonged period of time, the higher his or her risk raises.
Positive Effect of Smoking
Cessation Noticeable within a short period of time.
“Compared to individuals who continue smoking, the risk of
myocardial infarction and stroke is reduced by more than 40 percent already within
the first five years after the last cigarette,” says Carolin Gellert, first
author of the study.
The results suggest that smoking cessation programs, which
have concentrated on younger participants up to now, should be expanded to
reach out to older people as well.
###
The above story is based on the February 20, 2013 news release
by Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.
The research by these scientists has been e-published ahead
of print in European Journal of Epidemiology:
Gellert C, Schöttker B, Müller H, Holleczek B, Brenner H. Impact of smoking and quitting on
cardiovascular outcomes and risk advancement periods among older. adults. Eur J Epidemiol. 2013 DOI: 10.1007/s10654-013-9776-0
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