Smoking Cessation and Decreased Risk of Stroke in Women.
Kawachi, Ichiro; Colditz, Graham A.; Stampfer, Meir J.; Willett, Walter C.; Manson, JoAnn E.; Rosner, Bernard; Speizer, Frank E.; Hennekens, Charles H.
[Article] JAMA. 269(2):232-236, January 13, 1993.

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Objective: To prospectively examine the relationship of time since stopping smoking with risk of stroke in middle-aged women.

Design: An ongoing prospective cohort of women with 12 years' follow-up data (1976 to 1988), in which information on smoking habits was updated every 2 years by postal questionnaire.

Population Studied-A total of 117 006 female registered nurses aged 30 to 55 years in 1976 and free of coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer at baseline.

Main Outcome Measures: Incident strokes (fatal and nonfatal), further subdivided into ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and cerebral hemorrhage.

Results: The age-adjusted relative risk of total stroke among current smokers compared with never smokers was 2.58 (95% confidence interval, 2.08 to 3.19). The corresponding relative risk among former smokers was 1.34 (95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 1.73). For total and ischemic stroke, the excess risks among former smokers largely disappeared from 2 to 4 years after cessation. The same patterns of decline were observed regardless of number of cigarettes smoked, the age at starting, or the presence of other risk factors for stroke.

Conclusions: The risk of suffering a stroke among cigarette smokers declines soon after cessation and the benefits are independent of the age at starting and the number of cigarettes smoked per day.

(JAMA. 1993;269:232-236).

Copyright 1993 by the American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use. American Medical Association, 515 N. State St, Chicago, IL 60610.