Table 2 Baseline characteristics for 2022 subjects who participated in all four examinations.
| Never smokers (n = 581) | Ex‐smokers (n = 371) | Early cessation (n = 93) | Intermediate cessation (n = 153) | Late cessation (n = 210) | Continuous smokers ( n = 614) | All (n = 2022) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 45.7 | 47.3 | 45.1 | 46.9 | 44.4 | 44.2 | 45.4 |
| Women (%) | 75.7 | 56.3 | 54.8 | 47.1 | 55.2 | 58.3 | 61.6 |
| Age when started smoking (years) | – | 18.4 | 20.6 | 19.2 | 19.8 | 19.0 | 19.2 |
| Pack‐years (years) | – | – | 14.8 | 18.4 | 16.7 | 19.1 | 18.2 |
| Exposure to welding dust (%) | 8.6 | 10.0 | 5.3 | 17.0 | 12.9 | 16.1 | 12.1 |
| No education (%) | 25.7 | 26.6 | 24.2 | 22.9 | 29.5 | 27.2 | 26.5 |
| High education (%) | 6.9 | 8.4 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 6.6 |