How Ex-Smokers (Not Very Surprisingly) Can Prevent Early Death

Many smokers stop smoking in middle age. But then the harmful effects of cigarettes – increased atherosclerosis and lung damage – are often already present. The result is a mortality rate that continues to rise for years. A study by the American National Cancer Institute (NCI) now shows how ex-smokers can best reduce this risk: with exercise, a normal weight and a healthy diet.

“In this cohort study of 159,937 ex-smokers (…) those who best followed the recommendations regarding body weight, diet, exercise and alcohol consumption had a 27th percent reduction in all-cause mortality. There was also an association mortality from cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease,” wrote Maki Inoue-Choi and co-authors of the study, published in Jama Network Open.

The scientific study included a group of people with an average age of 62.6 years at the start. On average, they had stopped smoking more than ten years ago. The scientists correlated their risk of death over the next 18.9 years with four lifestyle factors: body mass index (BMI), diet in the “Healthy Eating Index”, physical activity and alcohol consumption. A maximum of eight points could be obtained in the categories.

It showed that ex-smokers with the healthiest lifestyles had a 27 percent lower risk of death from all causes. This was highly statistically significant. Exercising more than four hours a week reduced all-cause mortality by 17 percent. Normal weight resulted in minus 14 percent mortality, a healthy diet minus nine percent. Avoiding too much alcohol resulted in a four percent reduction in mortality. Even if the study participants didn’t “perfectly” meet the recommendations, there were significant effects.

The effects could also be proven in the prevention of death from certain diseases: the ex-smokers who behaved most health-consciously were 28 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease, and the risk of cancer was reduced by 24 percent. in respiratory diseases by 30 percent. (aeg/sda/apa)