Delphine Girard1, Edgar Delgado-Eckert2, Emmanuel Schaffner3, Christoph Häcki2, Martin Adam3, Georgette L Stern2, Nitin Kumar2, Denise Felber Dietrich4, Alexander Turk5, Marco Pons6, Nino Künzli3, Jean-Michel Gaspoz7, Thierry Rochat8, Christian Schindler3, Nicole Probst-Hensch3, Urs Frey2. 1. University of Basel, University Children's Hospital (UKBB), Basel, Switzerland; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address: delphine.gd@gmail.com. 2. University of Basel, University Children's Hospital (UKBB), Basel, Switzerland. 3. Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. 4. Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, Air Quality Management Section, Bern, Switzerland. 5. Zürcher Höhenklinik Wald, Faltigberg-Wald, Switzerland. 6. Regional Hospital of Lugano, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Lugano, Switzerland. 7. University Hospital of Geneve, Health and Community Medicine, Geneve, Switzerland. 8. University Hospital of Geneve, Pneumology, Geneve, Switzerland.
Abstract
AIM: To evaluate the long-term influence of smoking cessation on the regulation of the autonomic cardiovascular system in an aging general population, using the subpopulation of lifelong non-smokers as control group. METHODS: We analyzed 1481 participants aged ≥50 years from the SAPALDIA cohort. In each participant, heart rate variability and heart rate dynamics were characterized by means of various quantitative analyzes of the inter-beat interval time series generated from 24-hour electrocardiogram recordings. Each parameter obtained was then used as the outcome variable in multivariable linear regression models in order to evaluate the association with smoking status and time elapsed since smoking cessation. The models were adjusted for known confounding factors and stratified by the time elapsed since smoking cessation. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that smoking triggers adverse changes in the regulation of the cardiovascular system, even at low levels of exposure since current light smokers exhibited significant changes as compared to lifelong non-smokers. Moreover, there was evidence for a dose-response effect. Indeed, the changes observed in current heavy smokers were more marked as compared to current light smokers. Furthermore, full recovery was achieved in former smokers (i.e., normalization to the level of lifelong non-smokers). However, while light smokers fully recovered within the 15 first years of cessation, heavy former smokers might need up to 15-25 years to fully recover. CONCLUSION: This study supports the substantial benefits of smoking cessation, but also warns of important long-term alterations caused by heavy smoking.
AIM: To evaluate the long-term influence of smoking cessation on the regulation of the autonomic cardiovascular system in an aging general population, using the subpopulation of lifelong non-smokers as control group. METHODS: We analyzed 1481 participants aged ≥50 years from the SAPALDIA cohort. In each participant, heart rate variability and heart rate dynamics were characterized by means of various quantitative analyzes of the inter-beat interval time series generated from 24-hour electrocardiogram recordings. Each parameter obtained was then used as the outcome variable in multivariable linear regression models in order to evaluate the association with smoking status and time elapsed since smoking cessation. The models were adjusted for known confounding factors and stratified by the time elapsed since smoking cessation. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that smoking triggers adverse changes in the regulation of the cardiovascular system, even at low levels of exposure since current light smokers exhibited significant changes as compared to lifelong non-smokers. Moreover, there was evidence for a dose-response effect. Indeed, the changes observed in current heavy smokers were more marked as compared to current light smokers. Furthermore, full recovery was achieved in former smokers (i.e., normalization to the level of lifelong non-smokers). However, while light smokers fully recovered within the 15 first years of cessation, heavy former smokers might need up to 15-25 years to fully recover. CONCLUSION: This study supports the substantial benefits of smoking cessation, but also warns of important long-term alterations caused by heavy smoking.
Authors: Federico Murgia; Roberto Melotti; Luisa Foco; Martin Gögele; Viviana Meraviglia; Benedetta Motta; Alexander Steger; Michael Toifl; Daniel Sinnecker; Alexander Müller; Giampiero Merati; Georg Schmidt; Alessandra Rossini; Peter P Pramstaller; Cristian Pattaro Journal: PLoS One Date: 2019-04-09 Impact factor: 3.240