Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.med.nursing,sci.med.pharmacy
From: [jwat c h] at [world.std.com] (Journal Watch)
Subject: Journal Watch Summaries for August 26, 1994
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 14:43:53 GMT


  This is Journal Watch, a medical-literature
survey produced by the Massachusetts Medical
Society.
  Twice a week, our physician-editors summarize
important new clinical research from a group
of 25 journals. Twice a month, the summaries
get compiled into newsletter form and mailed
to subscribers.
  If you'd like to subscribe to the newsletter,
which costs $US79 a year, please call
800-843-6356; international orders:
(49) 30 335 8006.
  To comment via e-mail, please contact us at
[jwat c h] at [world.std.com.]
  Contents copyright 1994, Mass. Medical Society.



Journal Watch Summaries for August 23, 1994


THE BENEFITS OF DIETARY CHANGE AND SMOKING CESSATION.
  Arch Intern Med 1994 Aug 8; 154:1697-1704.



THE BENEFITS OF DIETARY CHANGE AND SMOKING CESSATION.
   Health promotion programs that involve behavior
change, such as diet modification and smoking cessation, are
often recommended for reducing coronary disease, but what
are the expected benefits of each strategy? This study used
a computer model to estimate the impact on life expectancy
of  reduced-cholesterol diet or smoking cessation.
   The distribution of coronary risk factors such as blood
pressure, glucose intolerance, cholesterol, and smoking
status were derived from the Canadian Health Survey. The
predicted change in cholesterol was based on a diet with
cholesterol intake of 240 to 300 mg/day and 8 to 10 percent
of calories from fat; the model assumed that, on average,
such diets would reduce serum cholesterol 17 to 29 mg/dl in
men and 5 to 21 mg/dl in women. Smoking cessation assumed
that all smokers became nonsmokers.
   The maximal increase in life expectancy from dietary
modification was 0.4 year for men and 0.16 year for women.
The maximal increase in life expectancy from smoking
cessation was 4.43 years for men and 3.68 years for women.
The greatest dietary benefits were estimated in men who were
assumed to start dieting at ages 30 to 59. The benefits of
smoking cessation were fairly consistent regardless of age
and sex.
  Comment: Although these results are based on estimates
from a computer model and not the actual efficacy of
specific programs, they do highlight the need to continue to
focus on cigarette smoking as a public health priority.
--CD Mulrow.
   Citation: Grover S; et al. Life expectancy following dietary modification
or smoking cessation. Arch Intern Med 1994 Aug 8; 154:1697-1704.