Open AccessSmoking, Smoking Cessation, and Measures of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Multiple Vascular Beds in Japanese Men
Author(s) -
Hisamatsu Takashi,
Miura Katsuyuki,
Arima Hisatomi,
Kadota Aya,
Kadowaki Sayaka,
Torii Sayuki,
Suzuki Sentaro,
Miyagawa Naoko,
Sato Atsushi,
Yamazoe Masahiro,
Fujiyoshi Akira,
Ohkubo Takayoshi,
Yamamoto Takashi,
Murata Kiyoshi,
Abbott Robert D.,
Sekikawa Akira,
Horie Minoru,
Ueshima Hirotsugu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of the american heart association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.494
H-Index - 85
ISSN - 2047-9980
DOI - 10.1161/jaha.116.003738
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiology , subclinical infection , odds ratio , calcification , smoking cessation , risk factor , population , brachial artery , intima media thickness , carotid arteries , blood pressure , pathology , environmental health
Background Smoking is an overwhelming, but preventable, risk factor for cardiovascular diseases ( CVD ), although smoking prevalence remains high in developed and developing countries in East Asia. Methods and Results In a population‐based sample of 1019 Japanese men aged 40 to 79 years, without CVD , we examined cross‐sectional associations of smoking status, cumulative pack‐years, daily consumption, and time since cessation, with subclinical atherosclerosis at 4 anatomically distinct vascular beds, including coronary artery calcification, carotid intima‐media thickness ( CIMT ) and plaque, aortic artery calcification (Ao AC ), and ankle‐brachial index. Current, former, and never smoking were present in 32.3%, 50.0%, and 17.7%, respectively. Compared to never smokers, current smokers had significantly higher risks of subclinical atherosclerosis in all 4 circulations (eg, odds ratios for coronary artery calcification >0, 1.79 [95% CIs, 1.16–2.79]; CIMT >1.0 mm, 1.88 [1.02–3.47]; Ao AC >0, 4.29 [2.30–7.97]; and ankle‐brachial index <1.1, 1.78 [1.16–2.74]) and former smokers did in carotid and aortic circulations ( CIMT >1.0 mm, 1.94 [1.13–3.34]; and Ao AC >0, 2.55 [1.45–4.49]). Dose–response relationships of pack‐years and daily consumption, particularly with CIMT , carotid plaque, Ao AC , and ankle‐brachial index, were observed among both current and former smokers, and even a small amount of pack‐years or daily consumption among current smokers was associated with coronary artery calcification and Ao AC , whereas time since cessation among former smokers was linearly associated with lower burdens of all atherosclerotic indices. Conclusions Cigarette smoking was strongly associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in multiple vascular beds in Japanese men, and these associations attenuated with time since cessation.