Dose-Dependent Association Seen for Smoking, CVD Risk
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Nov. 1, 2024 -- There is a dose-dependent association for smoking and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, according to a study published online Nov. 1 in JAMA Network Open.
Jun Hwan Cho, M.D., from Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital in South Korea, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the associations between smoking cessation, lifetime smoking burden, and CVD risk based on the numbers of years elapsed after smoking cessation.
The analyses included 5,391,231 participants: 15.8, 1.9, and 82.2 percent current smokers, ex-smokers, and never smokers, respectively, who were followed for a mean of 4.2 years. The researchers found that the median baseline cumulative smoking amounts were 14.0 and 10.5 pack-years for current smokers and ex-smokers, respectively. For ex-smokers, the median duration of smoking cessation was four years. There was a dose-dependent relationship observed between smoking and incident CVD, regardless of continued smoking. Ex-smokers with a lifetime smoking burden of less than eight pack-years (light ex-smokers) had a significant reduction in CVD risk within 10 years of cessation compared with current smokers, with the risk becoming similar to that of never-smokers. Ex-smokers with eight or more pack-years (heavy ex-smokers) had a slower decline in CVD risk, with the residual CVD risk not disappearing until after more than 25 years.
"Heavy ex-smokers should be considered to have a CVD risk equivalent to that of patients who continue to smoke, and management should be planned accordingly," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted November 2024
Read this next
Adherence to Healthy Diet Improves Cardiometabolic Risk, Even Without Weight Loss
WEDNESDAY, June 11, 2025 -- A healthy diet improves cardiometabolic risk factors, even if not associated with weight loss (WL), according to a study published online June 5...
Standard-Criteria Kidney Transplant Offers Clear Survival Benefit Over Continued Dialysis
TUESDAY, June 10, 2025 -- Transplantation with standard-criteria kidney offers a clear survival benefit, but this decreases with age and for those with a history of cardiovascular...
Artificial Sweetener Neotame Found in Most E-Cigarettes
MONDAY, June 9, 2025 -- The artificial sweetener neotame is ubiquitous in popular disposable e-cigarettes, according to a research letter published online June 2 in...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.