Studies have shown that smoking is associated with worse physical functioning. However, most previous research has included only older adults. It has not considered whether smoking affects people’s health at younger ages, in spite of the fact that many smokers start at an early age. This MIDUS study began with over 6000 participants aged 25-75, who were followed for up to 19 years, to see how early in life smoking starts to be linked with compromised health.
Researchers looked at participant’s smoking history, including:
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- Smoking status: whether they were current smokers, former smokers, or never smoked
- Smoking duration: the number of years they had been smoking or years since they quit
- Smoking intensity: the average number of cigarettes smoked per day during the year they smoked most heavily
- Pack-years: computed as the smoking duration multiplied by intensity.
Participants also reported on the extent of their functional limitations over the follow-up period, indicating how much their health limited their ability to carry out daily tasks such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs, bending or kneeling, or walking more than a mile.
Results showed that:
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- Smokers had significantly more functional limitations than never smokers, even at ages as young as 30.
- The difference in functional limitations between smokers and never smokers widened as they aged.
- Smoking intensity (highest number of cigarettes smoked per day) was more strongly associated with functional limitations than smoking duration or pack-years.
These results suggest that although smoking may contribute more to physical limitations later in life, its impact may be evident at early ages. When limitations in basic daily activities like lifting, bending, and walking begin early, they can affect quality of life for decades. As the authors say: “Smoking probably will not kill you at a young age, but it may compromise your physical function long before it kills you.” It’s best to not even start, because the addictive nature of smoking can make it very hard to quit. More interventions to help people stop smoking are needed, to help preserve their physical functioning as they age.
Source: Glei, D. A., & Weinstein, M. (2023). Smoking may compromise physical function long before it kills you. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, Article 1261102. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1261102
Read the full article at: http://www.midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/2770.pdf