Smoking cessation and the odds of developing hypertension in a working-age male population; the impact of body weight changes.

Background: Smoking elevates blood pressure (BP) whereas smoking cessation increases body weight (BW), which predisposes new quitters to the development of hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the effect of smoking cessation and subsequent BW change on the odds of developing hypertension.

Methods: A total of 10,354 Japanese male workers without hypertension who underwent a baseline annual medical checkup were followed up for three years to detect the development of hypertension. They were divided into six groups according to their smoking status (non-smokers, new quitters, or continuous smokers) and BW change (≥3 kg or <3 kg) during the follow-up period. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratio (OR) for developing hypertension.

Results: During the follow-up period, 1,032 participants (mean age, 38.4 ± 8.8 years) developed hypertension. After adjusting for multiple potential confounders, the odds of developing hypertension were significantly higher in new quitters with BW gains ≥3 kg (OR, 2.95, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37-6.35) compared to non-smokers with BW gains <3 kg. However, increased odds of developing hypertension were not observed in those with BW gains <3 kg (OR, 0.90, 95% CI, 0.52-1.58). Continuous smokers were at increased odds of developing hypertension regardless of their BW changes (BW gain <3 kg, OR, 1.35, 95% CI, 1.13-1.61 vs BW gain ≥3 kg, OR, 1.90, 95% CI, 1.43-2.52).

Conclusions: The odds of developing hypertension were increased in new quitters only when their BW gain was not controlled after smoking cessation.