Emphysema in Apparently Healthy Adults

In an ongoing study of consecutive whole lung mounts from autopsies on adult victims of sudden and unexpected death, heavy cigarette smoking appeared to be the major causal factor of emphysema in both men and women. In men, grades of emphysema of 20 or greater were present in 10% (three of 30) of the nonsmokers and in 39% (16 of 41) of the heavy smokers. In nonsmoking women grades of 20 or greater were not present in a single instance, but in heavy-smoking women it was present in 23% (five of 22). Comparable degrees of emphysema were seen in smoking men and women at a much younger age than in nonsmokers.