Never-smoking history as a poor prognostic factor in surgically proven idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Objectives: Smoking is known as a risk factor of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), but the effect of smoking on survival has been reported variable. The objective of this study was to clarify the effect of smoking status on prognosis of IPF. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 92 consecutive IPF patients (never smoker 28, ever smoker 64) who underwent surgical lung biopsy from 2001 to 2009, and evaluated pulmonary function and survival time from their first visit. Results: Twenty of 28 never smokers (71.4%) and five of 64 ever smokers (7.8%) were female (p Conclusions: Never smokers with IPF were female predominant with high prevalence of familial history of the disease, and showed poorer prognosis. IPF in never smokers may have different pathogenic factors form that in ever smokers.