Risk of metabolic syndrome persisting twenty years after the cessation of smoking
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A retrospective study on 22,892 Japanese visiting the Health-Care Center at Jikei University for medical check-ups was conducted in order to investigate whether smoking was correlated with the metabolic syndrome and how long the metabolic syndrome remained after smoking cessation. The metabolic syndrome was defined by specific criteria for Japan as established by 7 Japanese societies; all participants completed a simple, self-administered lifestyle questionnaire including smoking information. The odds ratio of metabolic syndrome onset was 1.20 for current smokers and 1.21 for past smokers as compared with never smokers. In current smokers, the odds ratio of metabolic syndrome increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the difference with never smokers being significant at ≥20 cigarettes par day. After quitting, the risk of metabolic syndrome was negatively related to the duration of the cessation period. However, the risk of developing the metabolic syndrome persisted for at least 10 years in subjects smoking ≥20 cigarettes par day, and for over 20 years in those smoking ≥40 cigarettes par day. In conclusion, past smoking habits may also contribute to the development of the metabolic syndrome.
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