WOMEN BENEFIT MORE FROM QUITTING SMOKING
THAN MEN
New findings from the Lung Health Study (LHS) indicate that, in
general, women’s lung function improves significantly more
than men’s after sustained smoking cessation. LHS researchers
previously published results showing that both men and women benefit
from smoking cessation; this new analysis indicates that the benefits
to the lungs are greater in women than in men. The results are published
in the June 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI),
the study followed more than 5,300 middle-aged smokers for five
years. All participants had mild or moderate chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD). In the first year after quitting, women’s
lung function improved more than twice that of the men’s.
Among those who quit, improved lung function remained greater for
women than for men throughout the study, although the differences
between the genders narrowed over time. The decline in lung function
in those who continued to smoke was on average similar for men and
women.
Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of COPD, a slowly progressive
disease of the lung that is characterized by a gradual loss of lung
function. COPD is the fourth most common and the most rapidly increasing
cause of death in the United States. Emphysema, chronic bronchitis,
chronic obstructive bronchitis, or a combination of emphysema and
chronic bronchitis are forms of COPD.
Dr. Gail Weinmann, a lung specialist with the NHLBI, is available
to comment on the study and on the health benefits of smoking cessation.
To arrange an interview with Dr. Weinmann, please call the NHLBI
Communications Office at (301) 496-4236.
NHLBI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
the Federal Government's primary agency for biomedical and behavioral
research. NIH is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. Information about COPD and other lung diseases,
as well as cardiovascular, blood, and sleep disorders are available
online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
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