Pack year
The pack-year , English pack year ( py ), the unit in which in random or medical publications the inhaled smoke dose of a cigarette smoker is described. From this, the number of cigarettes consumed can be estimated. This dose is decisive for the risk of developing lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , for example .
The number of cigarette packs consumed daily (content approx. 20 pieces) is multiplied by the number of years of smoking. Example: A smoker smokes two packs of cigarettes a day for four years, resulting in (2 ⋅ 4) eight pack years. The inhalation depth or the pollutant content of the smoked cigarettes as additional risk factors are not taken into account in this calculation.
In everyday clinical practice, instead of calculating the pack years, a simple distinction is made between people who have never smoked, former smokers and smokers.
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Bellamy, Rachel Booke: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Primary Care. Class Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-859-59104-3 , pp. 31f.
- ↑ Wolfgang Gerok , Christoph Huber , Thomas Meinertz and Henning Zeidler : The internal medicine: reference work for the specialist. Schattauer, ISBN 3-794-52222-2 , p. 391.
- ↑ Kathie Wong, Edith Ubogagu, Darrel Francis: Cardiology to Impress. Imperial College Press, 2010, ISBN 1-848-16538-2 , p. 15.