Prevalence and Intensity of Smoking in Older Patients with Coronary Heart Disease Living in the Extreme North

This paper analyzes the prevalence and intensity of smoking and its correlation with other risk factors of coronary artery disease among patients with chronic coronary artery disease aged 60 years and over living in the extreme North on the basis of ethnicity, age, and gender. A dependence of smoking on age is observed in non-indigenous patients. Smoking is less prevalent among women compared to men and among long-livers in comparison with the elderly and senile age. High intensity and long history of smoking are revealed in both ethnic groups of male patients. The average smoking history of smokers at the time of the survey is more than 50 years, and that of former smokers more than 30 years. High smoking index (SI) of more than 25 pack-years is observed in both ethnic groups. SI of more than 25 pack-years is 1.5 times more common in non-indigenous patients compared to the group of Yakuts. The highest SI is observed in the group of patients under 75 years. The higher the smoking index in non-indigenous smoking patients, the lower their HDL cholesterol levels regardless of the place of birth and the length of stay in the extreme North. The analysis reveals the correlation of smoking with other risk factors: blood lipids, arterial pressure (AP), body mass index (BMI), and abdominal obesity (AO), as well as the dependence of myocardial infarction on the smoking history and the smoking index value. Smoking cessation leads to lower blood pressure and BMI and promotes higher HDL cholesterol levels.