In this observational cohort study of 8770 participants, former heavy smokers’ risk of cardiovascular disease was significantly lower within 5 years of smoking cessation relative to current smokers but remained significantly elevated for at least 5 to 10 years and possibly for 25 years after cessation relative to never smokers.
The study population included 8770 individuals. There were 5308 ever smokers with a median 17.2 baseline pack-years, including 2371 heavy ever smokers (406 former and 1965 current).
Meredith S. Duncan, Matthew S. Freiberg, Robert A. Greevy Jr, et al. JAMA. 2019;322(7):642-650. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.10298
