The Lung Health Study (LHS)
Objectives:
To determine the effects of Special Care, compared to
Usual Care, on rate of decline in pulmonary function in a group of cigarette
smokers identified as having mild abnormalities in pulmonary function. In
addition, the study sought to determine if participants with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, who were assigned to inhaled corticosteroids had
a lower rate of decline in lung function and lower incidence of respiratory
morbidity compared to participants assigned to placebo. Also, the study sought
to determine the long-term effects of smoking cessation and continued smoking,
on cardiopulmonary morbidity, mortality, and the rate of decline in the one
second forced expiratory volume in men and women with early chronic obstructive
lung disease who have been followed prospectively for 12 to 15 years. Subjects:
Men and women who were cigarette smokers and between the ages of 35 and 60.
Results: Participants in the two smoking intervention groups showed
significantly smaller declines in FEV1 than did those in the control group.
Most of this difference occurred during the first year following entry into the
study and was attributable to smoking cessation, with those who achieved
sustained smoking cessation experiencing the largest benefit. The small
noncumulative benefit associated with use of the active bronchodilator vanished
after the bronchodilator was discontinued at the end of the study. The authors
concluded that an aggressive smoking intervention program significantly reduced
the age-related decline in FEV1 in middle-aged smokers with mild airways
obstruction. Use of an inhaled anticholinergic bronchodilator resulted in a
relatively small improvement in FEV1 that appeared to be reversed after the
drug was discontinued. Use of the bronchodilator did not influence the
long-term decline of FEV1. Additionally, the study showed that lung function
decline in the patients treated with the inhaled corticosteroid was
statistically no different from that in the placebo group. Corticosteroid use
did, however, result in 25 percent fewer respiratory symptoms and nearly 50
percent fewer outpatient visits for respiratory problems. However, after three
years, bone density in the hip and back was lower in the corticosteroid group.
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Study Website |
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Study Documentation |
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Data Distribution Agreement |
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