| Sustained never smokers | “Starters” | Sustained ex-smokers | “Resumers” | Sustained smokers | “Quitters” | p Value† | |
| Men (n = 23 560): | |||||||
| Age (years) | 43.6 (6.8) | 39.5 (9.1) | 46.3 (6.0) | 43.8 (7.3) | 44.1 (7.4) | 43.9 (7.5) | <0.001 |
| Cigarette consumption (no. per day) | – | 8.1 (4.7) | 13.8 (8.1) | 11.7 (6.1) | 14.1 (6.4) | 15.0 (8.0) | – |
| Duration of smoking (years) | – | 9.1 (7.6) | 13.8 (6.8) | 19.4 (8.8) | 24.2 (7.9) | 20.3 (8.4) | – |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 135.5 (17.9) | 133.3 (16.7) | 136.9 (16.9) | 135.2 (17.0) | 135.6 (17.3) | 137.2 (17.5) | <0.001 |
| Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 85.2 (10.9) | 82.6 (10.9) | 87.3 (11.0) | 84.9 (11.4) | 84.6 (11.2) | 86.1 (11.8) | <0.001 |
| Total serum cholesterol (mmol/litre) | 5.98 (1.17) | 5.74 (1.17) | 6.16 (1.18) | 6.14 (1.26) | 6.30 (1.24) | 6.22 (1.24) | <0.001 |
| Serum triglycerides (mmol/litre) | 1.95 (1.01) | 1.80 (1.34) | 2.10 (1.25) | 2.03 (1.15) | 2.06 (1.20) | 2.13 (1.25) | <0.001 |
| Physical activity leisure‡ | 2.32 (0.65) | 2.28 (0.70) | 2.28 (0.68) | 2.18 (0.66) | 2.10 (0.65) | 2.20 (0.67) | 0.005 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.3 (3.9) | 24.9 (4.0) | 25.9 (3.3) | 25.2 (3.5) | 24.8 (3.6) | 26.0 (3.6) | <0.001 |
| Height (cm) | 176.3 (9.0) | 177.0 (9.7) | 176.1 (8.6) | 176.3 (9.0) | 175.2 (8.9) | 175.6 (9.0) | 0.142 |
| Disability pension (%) | 3.3 (2.1) | 3.3 (2.3) | 2.4 (1.8) | 1.9 (1.7) | 4.1 (2.3) | 2.6 (2.2) | 0.008 |
| Sick leave (%) | 2.0 (1.7) | 7.0 (2.1) | 3.0 (1.9) | 4.0 (2.0) | 5.0 (2.2) | 4.0 (2.2) | <0.001 |
| Family history of CHD (%)§ | 25.5 (4.6) | 23.6 (4.6) | 30.3 (4.7) | 34.4 (4.7) | 28.3 (4.7) | 26.7 (4.6) | 0.066 |
| Women (n = 25 122): | |||||||
| Age (years) | 45.3 (6.6) | 43.1 (8.5) | 44.9 (6.4) | 42.5 (7.6) | 43.5 (7.6) | 42.5 (8.0) | 0.004 |
| Cigarette consumption (no. per day) | – | 5.8 (3.7) | 8.6 (5.2) | 8.8 (4.8) | 10.8 (5.1) | 9.9 (5.6) | – |
| Duration of smoking (years) | – | 7.1 (6.8) | 10.0 (5.8) | 14.4 (7.9) | 19.8 (7.3) | 15.2 (7.5) | – |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 132.2 (18.1) | 128.9 (16.3) | 129.5 (16.1) | 127.1 (17.3) | 128.7 (17.2) | 128.8 (16.9) | <0.001 |
| Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 82.6 (10.3) | 80.1 (10.1) | 81.8 (10.0) | 79.2 (10.7) | 80.5 (10.5) | 80.4 (10.7) | 0.001 |
| Total serum cholesterol (mmol/litre) | 6.09 (1.16) | 5.97 (1.18) | 6.05 (1.23) | 5.98 (1.23) | 6.25 (1.26) | 6.06 (1.27) | 0.141 |
| Serum triglycerides (mmol/litre) | 1.34 (0.73) | 1.55 (1.22) | 1.32 (0.81) | 1.38 (0.71) | 1.52 (0.90) | 1.42 (0.80) | 0.258 |
| Physical activity leisure‡ | 2.01 (0.57) | 1.92 (0.61) | 2.03 (0.56) | 1.98 (0.56) | 1.93 (0.57) | 1.96 (0.55) | 0.099 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.0 (4.0) | 24.9 (4.0) | 24.6 (3.6) | 23.8 (3.5) | 23.7 (3.7) | 25.0 (4.1) | <0.001 |
| Height (cm) | 162.8 (6.1) | 162.5 (6.6) | 163.7 (5.9) | 163.4 (5.7) | 162.9 (6.0) | 162.8 (6.2) | <0.001 |
| Disability pension (%) | 4.0 (2.0) | 5.7 (2.3) | 2.3 (1.5) | 3.2 (1.8) | 4.6 (2.1) | 3.7 (1.9) | <0.001 |
| Sick leave (%) | 2.8 (1.6) | 1.4 (1.2) | 3.8 (1.9) | 4.3 (2.0) | 5.2 (2.2) | 3.9 (1.9) | 0.003 |
| Family history of CHD (%)§ | 29.9 (4.6) | 31.9 (4.7) | 33.2 (4.7) | 31.8 (4.7) | 32.8 (4.7) | 30.9 4.6) | 0.014 |
Values are mean (SD) or % (SD).
*Participants not reporting cardiovascular disease, diabetes or treatment for hypertension, or symptoms of angina pectoris or atherosclerosis obliterans; †p values represent differences between the sustained ex-smokers and the sustained never smokers; ‡physical activity during leisure was graded 1–4, with 4 denoting the heaviest activity; §One or more of parents or siblings reported to have had a heart infarction or angina pectoris.
BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; CHD, coronary heart disease.