title: Relationships among smoking habits, airflow limitations, and metabolic abnormalities in school workers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is caused mainly by habitual smoking and is common among elderly individuals. It involves not only airflow limitation but also metabolic disorders, leading to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated relationships among smoking habits, airflow limitation, and metabolic abnormalities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2001 and 2008, 15,324 school workers (9700 males, 5624 females; age: ≥ 30 years) underwent medical checkups, including blood tests and spirometry. They also responded to a questionnaire on smoking habits and medical history.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Airflow limitation was more prevalent in current smokers than in ex-smokers and never-smokers in men and women. The frequency of hypertriglyceridemia was higher in current smokers in all age groups, and those of low high-density-lipoprotein cholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus were higher in current smokers in age groups ≥ 40 s in men, but not in women. There were significant differences in the frequencies of metabolic abnormalities between subjects with airflow limitations and those without in women, but not in men. Smoking index was an independent factor associated with increased frequencies of hypertriglyceridemia (OR 1.015; 95% CI: 1.012-1.018; p<0.0001) and low high-density-lipoprotein cholesterolemia (1.013; 1.010-1.016; p<0.0001) in men. Length of smoking cessation was an independent factor associated with a decreased frequency of hypertriglyceridemia (0.984; 0.975-0.994; p = 0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Habitual smoking causes high incidences of airflow limitation and metabolic abnormalities. Women, but not men, with airflow limitation had higher frequencies of metabolic abnormalities.
authors: Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyoku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors: Masafumi
authors: M
authors: Horie
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Noguchi
authors: Wakae
authors: W
authors: Tanaka
authors: Yasushi
authors: Y
authors: Goto
authors: Hisanao
authors: H
authors: Yoshihara
authors: Masaki
authors: M
authors: Kawakami
authors: Masaru
authors: M
authors: Suzuki
authors: Yoshio
authors: Y
authors: Sakamoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000388:Air; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016540:Smoking Cessation