RELATION OF CIGARETTE-SMOKING TO MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION IN YOUNG-WOMEN

To examine the relation between myocardial infarction and cigarette smoking in young women, we investigated the smoking habits of women under the age of 50 who had survived a recent myocardial infarction. They had not been using oral contraceptives, and other identifiable risk factors were excluded. Among 55 such women and 220 controls matched for age and area of residence, the proportions of cigarette smokers were 89 per cent and 55 per cent respectively (P<0.001). A dose-response relation was evident; among women smoking 35 or more cigarettes per day the rate of myocardial infarction was estimated to be some 20-fold higher than among those who had never smoked. This study demonstrates that cigarette smoking is a risk factor for myocardial infarction in young women who are otherwise apparently healthy. (N Engl J Med 298:1273–1276, 1978) CIGARETTE smoking increases the risk of myocardial infarction. This relation is most evident at the youngest ages and becomes progressively weaker with increasing age. Although most of the evidence has been derived from studies in men,12 Mann et al. have shown that cigarette smoking is a strong risk factor for premature myocardial infarction in women as well3; women at high risk were included in their study. We are conducting an extensive case–control study to examine a large number of risk factors related to myocardial infarction in women below the age of 50 years. In this report we examine the. © 1978, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.