Relationship between Smoking and Abdominal Aorta Calcification on Computed Tomography.
Abstract
<h4>Background</h4>Cigarette smoking increases the risk of atherosclerosis, which
often develops as vascular calcification on radiologic examinations. This study evaluated
the relationship between smoking-related factors and incidental abdominal aorta calcification
(AAC) detected by computed tomography (CT) among middle-aged and elderly men.<h4>Methods</h4>We
assessed the abdominal CT findings of 218 men aged 40 to 81 years who underwent health
checkups. The associations between smoking factors and AAC were analyzed using logistic
regression analysis to adjust for confounding variables such as age, lifestyle factors,
and chronic diseases.<h4>Results</h4>Adjusting for confounding variables, the risk
of AAC was significantly increased in association with smoking for at least 20 years
(adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 5.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.82-14.93), smoking
10+ pack-years (10-20 pack-years: AOR, 4.54; 95% CI, 1.07-5.68; >20 pack-years: AOR,
5.28; 95% CI, 2.10-13.31), and a history of smoking (former smoker: AOR, 2.10; 95%
CI, 1.07-5.68; current smoker: AOR, 5.05; 95% CI, 2.08-12.26). In terms of the daily
smoking amount, even a low smoking level increased the risk of AAC.<h4>Conclusion</h4>These
findings suggest that smoking for 20+ years, smoking 10+ pack-years, and even a low
level of smoking daily increases the likelihood of developing AAC. Clinicians should
recommend that patients quit smoking and stress the importance of smoking duration
when promoting health in middle-aged and elderly patients.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/26299Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.4082/kjfm.17.0098Publication Info
Jung, Jin-Gyu; Wu, Li-Tzy; Kim, Jong-Sung; Kim, Eung-Du; & Yoon, Seok-Joon (2019). Relationship between Smoking and Abdominal Aorta Calcification on Computed Tomography.
Korean journal of family medicine, 40(4). pp. 248-253. 10.4082/kjfm.17.0098. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/26299.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Li-Tzy Wu
Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Education/Training: Pre- and post-doctoral training in mental health service research,
psychiatric epidemiology (NIMH T32), and addiction epidemiology (NIDA T32) from Johns
Hopkins University School of Public Health (Maryland); Fellow of the NIH Summer Institute
on the Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials.Director: Duke Community Based
Substance Use Disorder Research Program.Research interests: COVID-19, Opioid misuse,
Opioid overdose, Opioid use disorder

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