Changes in weight,cardiovascular risk factors and estimated risk of coronary heart disease following smoking cessation in Japanese male workers: HIPOP-OHP study

Aim: it is well established that people gain weight after smoking cessation; however,changes in cardiovascular risk factors and the estimated risk of coronary heart disease following smoking cessation have yet to be fully clarified. methods: the participants were 1,995 japanese male workers at 11 workplaces who participated continuously in the high-risk and population strategy for occupational health promotion (hipopohp) study. participants with a smoking habit had cardiovascular risk factors measured at baseline and over a 4-yr period. their estimated incidence risk of coronary heart disease was calculated by a formula based on a previous cohort study. results: successful abstainers who had stopped smoking for at least 6 months at the end of the follow-up period had weight gains of approximately 2 kg. these subjects had significant worsening of the following factors compared to continuing smokers: systolic and diastolic blood pressure,total cholesterol,triglyceride and fasting blood sugar levels. in contrast,hdl-cholesterol levels improved significantly. when the overall instantaneous incidence risk of coronary heart disease prior to smoking cessation was assumed to be 1.00,the estimated risk was 0.76 (95%ci: 0.68-0.85) in successful abstainers due mainly to smoking cessation,despite weight gain. conclusion: although smoking cessation leads to weight gain,the estimated risk of coronary heart disease was decreased markedly by smoking cessation.