Photo Credit: Lea Rae

Smoking cessation significantly reduced the risk of hidradenitis suppurativa, while starting or resuming smoking matched the risk of continued smokers.

Quitting smoking and maintaining smoking cessation were associated with a reduced risk of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) development compared with continued smoking, according to a study published in JAMA Dermatology.

“In contrast, resuming or initiating smoking may have as detrimental an effect on HS development as continual smoking,” wrote first author Seong Rae Kim, MD, and colleagues.

The cohort study included 6.2 million participants from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database in the primary cohort. Participants underwent two consecutive biennial health examinations (2004-2005 and 2006-2007), during which they reported on their smoking status.

Compared with patients who reported active smoking at both checkups, HS risk was lower for patients who smoked at the first but quit by the second checkup (researchers reported a 0.68 adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]), for those who maintained smoking cessation throughout both checkups (0.67 AHR), and for those who never smoked (0.57 AHR).

Meanwhile, patients who stopped smoking initially but started again, and patients with no previous smoking history who started smoking by the second checkup, had similar HS risks as sustained smokers, according to the study.

In a secondary cohort of participants who underwent all biennial health examinations throughout the follow-up period and maintained the same smoking status from 2006 to 2007 to the end of follow-up, HS risk reduction with smoking cessation was even more pronounced. Researchers reported a 0.57 AHR.

Time-smoking interaction analyses found similar HS risk for patients who quit and patients who continued smoking in the early stages of observation. Nevertheless, 3 to 4 years into smoking cessation, HS risk decelerated to resemble that of patients who never smoked. Between 3 and 6 years, AHRs for HS development were 0.58 for those who maintained cessation compared with those who continued smoking.

HS risk among new smokers initially paralleled that of never-smokers. By 2 to 3 years, however, it was similar to that of sustained smokers.

“Quitting smoking and maintaining a smoking-free status may reduce the risk of HS onset, suggesting the importance of smoking cessation and refraining from initiating or resuming smoking for HS prevention,” researchers wrote.