Smoking, High Blood Pressure & Cholesterol Cost 10-15 Years

Many baby boomers think they have plenty of time to correct their bad health habits.  Here’s another study showing that this is not the case.  It’s sponsored by the British Heart Foundation, and is published in the British Medical Journal.  The study “puts a figure” on how much shorter the lifespan is for middle-aged men who smoke, have high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Data were available from almost 19,000 men, who were examined at entry to the study and followed for 38 years.  At entry, 42% of them smoked, 39% had high cholesterol, and 51% high cholesterol.  The presence of all three risk factors was associated with a 10-year shorter life expectancy from age 50.

If the men were classified according to a risk score based on all available risk factors (smoking, diabetes, level of employment, blood pressure, cholesterol level, and body mass index), the men in the highest-scoring 5% had a 15-year shorter life expectancy from age 50 than those in the lowest 5%.

That’s certainly “putting a few figures” more on the importance of lifestyle changes for boomers.  Apart from correcting their known risk factors, they should direct their attention to a healthy diet, weight control, and plenty of physical activity.

If anything more was needed to emphasize the importance of quitting smoking, you should read a new study published online in Circulation.  Heart attack rates have dropped rapidly and continued to fall after smoking was banned in public spaces in North American and European communities.