Compared to current smokers, quitting smoking for 20+ years was associated with a significantly lower risk of CCA atherosclerosis (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.17-0.77) and carotid plaques.
Cross-Sectional (n=959)
Does smoking cessation reduce the risk of carotid atherosclerosis and plaques in older men?
Smoking cessation, particularly for durations of 10 years or more, is associated with a significantly attenuated risk of carotid atherosclerosis and plaque burden compared to continued smoking.
Effect estimate: OR 0.37 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.77)
p-value: p=≤0.001
INTRODUCTION: Smoking has been shown to be associated with carotid atherosclerosis in cross-sectional and prospective studies in Western populations. However, few studies have examined the reversal of risk resulting from quitting smoking, and the results are conflicting. METHODS: 959 men aged 50-85 years were randomly selected from phase III (2006-2007) of the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study into this cross-sectional study. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) was measured by B-mode ultrasonography, and carotid artery plaques were identified. Major cardiovascular risk factors, including fasting triglyceride, low-density and high-density lipoprotein (LDL and HDL) cholesterol and glucose, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, were assessed. RESULTS: CCA-IMT and the number of carotid plaque increased from never to former to current smokers (both p≤0.001). Among former smokers compared to current smokers, after adjustment for cigarette pack-years and other potential confounders, the adjusted ORs (95% CI) for quitting for 1-9, 10-19 and 20+ years were 0.77 (0.47 to 1.26), 0.45 (0.26 to 0.79) and 0.37 (0.17 to 0.77) for the presence of CCA atherosclerosis, and 0.69 (0.43 to 1.12), 0.47 (0.27 to 0.82) and 0.45 (0.23 to 0.96) for the presence of carotid plaques, respectively. Longer duration of quitting smoking was also significantly associated with decreasing risk of the severity of CCA atherosclerosis and carotid plaques (all p≤0.001). CONCLUSION: Smoking cessation was beneficial in attenuating the risk of carotid atherosclerosis associated with cigarette smoking. The short duration of cessation in earlier studies is a likely explanation for the inconsistent results.
Jiang et al. (Mon,) conducted a cross-sectional in Carotid atherosclerosis (n=959). Smoking cessation vs. Current smoking was evaluated on Presence of common carotid artery (CCA) atherosclerosis (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.77, p=≤0.001). Compared to current smokers, quitting smoking for 20+ years was associated with a significantly lower risk of CCA atherosclerosis (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.17-0.77) and carotid plaques.