Association of Smoking Cessation With Dynapenia Among Older Current or Former Smokers in Korea

Abstract

Abstract Muscle strength is important for the health of older individuals. However, the global burden of cigarette smoking remains significant. We investigated the association between smoking cessation and dynapenia in older Korean adults. Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2016–2019) were utilized, including 1,177 participants aged 65–79 years, excluding those who had never smoked. Dynapenia was defined as grip strength < 28 kg for men and < 18 kg for women based on the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria. Multivariate logistic regression analysis evaluated the association between smoking cessation and dynapenia. Compared with former smokers, the odds ratio (OR; 95% confidence interval [CI]) of dynapenia in current smokers was 1.648 (1.069–2.541). The OR (95% CI) stratified by the years since smoking cessation were 0.678 (0.378–1.217), 0.487 (0.276–0.860), 0.598 (0.323–1.108), and 0.483 (0.229–1.019) in those who did not smoke for < 10, 10–20, 20–30, and > 30 years, respectively. The OR for dynapenia significantly decreased with the number of years since smoking cessation (P for trend = 0.026). Former smokers had a lower risk of dynapenia than current smokers, and dynapenia risk decreased with increasing duration of smoking cessation.