Lung Health Studies

In 1986, the department won the Lung Health Study (LHS) contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to examine the effects of medication versus smoking cessation on the rate of lung function decline. The LHS enrolled 5,887 smokers at 10 centers in the United States and Canada. Participants, all of whom had mild COPD, were followed for 5 years. Results, published in JAMA in 1994, showed that the smoking cessation intervention slowed down lung function decline.

From 1994-2000, the CCBR conducted LHS II, a substudy of the first LHS, investigating the use of inhaled corticosteroids in over 1,000 participants. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

LHS III conducted long-term follow-up on LHS participants. Average follow-up was approximately 13 years, with data collected on lung health and mortality. In an intention-to-treat analysis, mortality in the intervention groups was significantly lower than that in the control group. Results were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Further reading:

Anthonisen NR, Skeans MA, Wise RA, Manfreda J, Kanner RE, Connett JE for the Lung Health Study Research Group. The effects of a smoking cessation intervention on 14.5-year mortality: a randomized clinical trial. Ann Intern Med 2005;142(4):233-9.

Lung Health Study Research Group. Effect of inhaled triamcinolone on the decline in pulmonary function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med 2000;343(26):1902-9.

Anthonisen NR, Connett JE, Kiley JP, Altose MD, Bailey WC, Buist AS, et al. Effects of smoking intervention and the use of an inhaled anticholinergic bronchodilator on the rate of decline of FEV1. The Lung Health Study. JAMA 1994; 272(19):1497-505.