Does smoking cessation lead to weight gain? The experience of asbestos-exposed shipyard workers

Our plain-English summary of Does smoking cessation lead to weight gain? The experience of asbestos-exposed shipyard workers, by T.J. Coates, V.C. Li (American Journal of Public Health, 1983).

The study

• Authors: T.J. Coates, V.C. Li
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health
• Published: 1983;73(11):1303-4
• Cited by: 12 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004266).

Abstract

We examined the relationship between smoking cessation and weight change in a sample of 373 asbestos-exposed workers who had participated in a smoking cessation program. Those who quit smoking for one year and those who quit for shorter periods gained significantly more weight than those who continued to smoke. Those with initially poorer health and those who quit to avoid illness gained less weight.

In plain English

This report followed 373 asbestos-exposed men who smoked, identified during an asbestos medical screening program at a shipyard, to study weight change after quitting. The men received their examination results and counseling about stopping smoking. They were contacted by telephone three months later and re-examined at twelve months. Thirteen men were not smoking at either check, 322 smoked at both, 13 had quit at three months but were smoking at one year, and 25 were smoking at three months but had quit by one year. Mean weight change over the year was +5.15 for those not smoking at either check, +3.76 and +2.76 for the two groups not smoking at only one check, and +0.35 for continuing smokers (the table does not state units). These group differences were statistically significant. Men reporting a daily cough for three months, or wanting to quit to avoid personal illness, tended to gain less weight. The authors concluded that the findings matched earlier studies but that the differences should not be exaggerated: the groups overlapped considerably, and some continuing smokers gained considerable weight.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Prospective follow-up study (published as a brief report) of smokers who took part in a smoking cessation program, with a medical examination at the start and again at one year
• Who was studied: 373 asbestos-exposed male smokers identified during an asbestos medical screening program at a shipyard. Mean age 42 (plus or minus 10 years), 12.8 years of education on average, 84 per cent White, smoking an average of 24.4 cigarettes per day. 87 per cent had tried to quit before.
• Exposure: The main factor studied was quitting smoking (smoking status at 3 and 12 months), not asbestos dose. All subjects were described as asbestos-exposed smokers. They received medical examination results and counseling about smoking cessation. Asbestos exposure was not measured or analyzed.
• Main results:
  • Group sizes: not smoking at 3 and 12 months, n = 13; smoking at 3 and 12 months, n = 322; quit at 3 months but smoking at 1 year, n = 13; smoking at 3 months but quit at 1 year, n = 25
  • Long-term quitters and those who quit for part of the year gained significantly more weight than continuing smokers
  • Mean one-year weight change (units not stated in the table) by group. Quit at 3 months and at 1 year: +5.15 (standard deviation 11.45, range -17 to +29). Smoking at 3 months, quit at 1 year: +3.76 (SD 10.03). Quit at 3 months, smoking at 1 year: +2.76 (SD 4.85). Smoking at both times: +0.35 (SD 7.53, range -35 to +61).
  • A one-way analysis of variance across the four groups was statistically significant (F with 3 and 369 degrees of freedom = 3.17, p less than .02). The comparison of long-term quitters with continuing smokers also reached p less than .03.
  • Reporting a daily cough for 3 months was negatively correlated with weight change (correlation -.18, p less than .003)
  • Wishing to quit smoking to avoid personal illness was negatively correlated with weight change (-.14, as confirmed in Table 2; p less than .002)
  • Those with initially poorer health, or who quit to avoid illness, showed less weight gain
  • The weight-change distributions of smokers and quitters overlapped considerably, and some continuing smokers gained considerable weight
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the findings are consistent with previous studies of other populations. They added that while differences between smokers and quitters exist, their size should not be exaggerated.

Related studies

• A pilot study of telephone-based smoking cessation intervention in asbestos workers — O.Y. Osinubi, J. Moline, et al. (2003)
• Behavioral, attitudinal, and physiologic characteristics of smoking and nonsmoking asbestos-exposed shipyard workers — V.C. Li, Y.J. Kim, et al. (1983)
• Healthcare provider smoking cessation advice among US worker groups — D.J. Lee, L.E. Fleming, et al. (2007)
• Effectiveness of smoking cessation advice for asbestos workers — A. Johnson, P. Farrow, et al. (2006)
• Cigarette smoking does not produce or enhance the radiologic appearance of pulmonary fibrosis — K.H. Kilburn (1981)
• Pulmonary function, smoking habits, and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) early abnormalities of lung and pleural fibrosis in shipyard workers exposed to asbestos — S. Neri, P. Boraschi, et al. (1996)

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