Cigarette smoking is associated with subclinical parenchymal lung disease: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)-lung study.

RATIONALE: Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for diffuse parenchymal lung disease. Risk factors for subclinical parenchymal lung disease have not been described.
OBJECTIVES: To determine if cigarette smoking is associated with subclinical parenchymal lung disease, as measured by spirometric restriction and regions of high attenuation on computed tomography (CT) imaging.
METHODS: We examined 2,563 adults without airflow obstruction or clinical cardiovascular disease in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a population-based cohort sampled from six communities in the United States. Cumulative and current cigarette smoking were assessed by pack-years and urine cotinine, respectively. Spirometric restriction was defined as a forced vital capacity less than the lower limit of normal. High attenuation areas on the lung fields of cardiac CT scans were defined as regions having an attenuation between -600 and -250 Hounsfield units, reflecting ground-glass and reticular abnormalities. Generalized additive models were used to adjust for age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, anthropometrics, center, and CT scan parameters.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The prevalence of spirometric restriction was 10.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.9-11.2%) and increased relatively by 8% (95% CI, 3-12%) for each 10 cigarette pack-years in multivariate analysis. The median volume of high attenuation areas was 119 cm(3) (interquartile range, 100-143 cm(3)). The volume of high attenuation areas increased by 1.6 cm(3) (95% CI, 0.9-2.4 cm(3)) for each 10 cigarette pack-years in multivariate analysis.
CONCLUSIONS: Smoking may cause subclinical parenchymal lung disease detectable by spirometry and CT imaging, even among a generally healthy cohort.