To study smoking habits among men with abdominal aortic aneurysm at screening at 65 years of age, and during follow-up, as a base-line study to evaluate future interventions.
Nested case-control study.
Between 2006 and 2011, 8150 65-year-old men (compliance 85%) were screened for AAA in Uppsala County, Sweden. Among 292 men with an aortic diameter of at least 25 mm, 77 were active smokers at the time of screening. At follow-up of smoking habits in 2012, 53 men (69%) participated in this study, 28 had an AAA of at least 30 mm and 25 a sub-aneurysmal aorta (SAA) 25-29 mm at baseline. For each case, one control was randomly selected, all active smokers with aortic diameter less than 25 mm at baseline, matched for age and year of screening. Telephone interviews were performed at a median 34 months (range: 4-67) after screening.
Men with AAA had hypertension more often than controls (68% vs. 23%, p