Changes in Weight, cardiovascular risk factors and estimated risk of coronary heart disease following smoking cessation in Japanese male workers: HIPOP-OHP study.
OBJECTIVE
It is well established that people gain weight after smoking cessation; however, changes in cardiovascular risk factors and the estimated risk of coronary heart disease following smoking cessation have yet to be fully clarified.


METHODS
The participants were 1,995 Japanese male workers at 11 workplaces who participated continuously in the High-risk and Population Strategy for Occupational Health Promotion (HIPOPOHP) study. Participants with a smoking habit had cardiovascular risk factors measured at baseline and over a 4-yr period. Their estimated incidence risk of coronary heart disease was calculated by a formula based on a previous cohort study.


RESULTS
Successful abstainers who had stopped smoking for at least 6 months at the end of the follow-up period had weight gains of approximately 2 kg. These subjects had significant worsening of the following factors compared to continuing smokers: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride and fasting blood sugar levels. In contrast, HDL-cholesterol levels improved significantly. When the overall instantaneous incidence risk of coronary heart disease prior to smoking cessation was assumed to be 1.00, the estimated risk was 0.76 (95%CI: 0.68-0.85) in successful abstainers due mainly to smoking cessation, despite weight gain.


CONCLUSIONS
Although smoking cessation leads to weight gain, the estimated risk of coronary heart disease was decreased markedly by smoking cessation.
Tamura
Unai
U
Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi 409-3898, Japan.
Tanaka
Taichiro
T
Okamura
Tomonori
T
Kadowaki
Takashi
T
Yamato
Hiroshi
H
Tanaka
Hideo
H
Nakamura
Masakazu
M
Okayama
Akira
A
Ueshima
Hirotsugu
H
Yamagata
Zentaro
Z
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015430:Weight Gain; D055815:Young Adult
D001786:Blood Glucose; D008055:Lipids