women benefit more from quitting cigarettes than men

 improved lung function in women who stop smoking

New findings from the Lung Health Study (LHS) show that, in general, the lung function in women improves significantly more than in men after sustained smoking cessation.

Lung Health Study researchers previously published results indicating that both men and women benefit from quitting; this new analysis indicates that the benefits to the lungs are greater in women than in men. The results are published in the June 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of COPD, a slowly progressive disease of the lung that is characterized by a gradual loss of lung function. COPD is the fourth most common and the most rapidly increasing cause of death in the country. Emphysema, chronic obstructive bronchitis, chronic bronchitis or a combination of emphysema and chronic bronchitis are forms of COPD.

Supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the study followed more than Five Thousand Three hundred middle-aged smokers for five years. All participants had mild or moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the 1st year after quitting, women’s lung function improved more than double that of the men’s.