Smoking as a risk factor for the development of arterial occlusive disease.

There was examined a total of 982 males with arterial occlusive disease (908 males with atherosclerosis obliterans, 59 with thromboangitis obliterans and 15 males with this disease of uncertain aetiology), 30 females with atherosclerosis obliterans, 411 control males and 50 control females. Among the controls there were significantly more frequently non-smokers and occasional smokers (the latter, however, having atherosclerosis obliterans--with the exception of females, and males having thromboangitis obliterans). In the complex of occlusive disease there were, on the other hand, more frequently present regular smokers smoking 31-40 years (in thromboangiitics for a period up to 10 years), smoking proportionally throughout the day and having their starting age of smoking before their 20th year of life. In the group of the arterial occlusive disease there was also a significantly higher number of those who discontinued smoking for 1-2 years in their life, while in the control group there were chiefly males who had discontinued smoking for a period longer than 5 years. Among stop-smokers there occurred significantly more frequently patients having only occlusions and significantly less frequently those having both occlusions and stenoses. There were no significant differences between the group with a pathological arterial process and the control one in the prevalence of cigar smokers or in the existence of their different smoking habits. The situation was similar also with pipe smokers with one exception: in the occlusive disease and/or atherosclerosis obliterans there were found more frequently mixed smokers of more than one package of tobacco weekly, smoking 31-40 years, namely proportionally throughout the day. As significant there proved to be chiefly cigarette smoking, and that in the amount over 16 cigarettes a day. As critical was found to be the period of exposition of 31-40 years. But when the relationship between the average daily number of cigarettes smoked and the total duration of smoking was compared, there was found in males with atherosclerosis obliterans as significant the smoking of already 11-15 cigarettes a day for a period of 31-40 years. With the rising number of cigarettes smoked per day there was getting shorter the critical period of exposition. Of importance is likewise the starting age of cigarette smoking before the 20th year of life and the proportional time distribution of smoking in the course of the whole day. In the complex of the arterial occlusive disease there were significantly more "rapid" smokers, i.e. those smoking their cigarette within a time up to 6 minutes and, further, those in whom, 5-8 years prior to the onse