Influence of chronic illnesses on smoking cessation

Smoking is a major risk factor for many diseases including lung cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and respiratory diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether being diagnosed with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, as well as being overweight, was associated with higher smoking cessation rates. The study sample consisted of 6,407 African Americans (50%) and Caucasians who responded to four community surveys conducted by Nashville REACH 2010 to understand health-related behaviors, including smoking cessation, for residents in Nashville, TN. The surveys were modeled after the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Comparisons between former and current smokers indicated that smoking cessation was significantly associated with several sociodemographic variables including age (p<.001), gender (p<.01), income (p<.001), marital status (p<.001), employment status (p<.001), and education (p<.001). Race did not have a significant association with being a former smoker (p=0.089). A multiple logistic regression was conducted to ascertain if chronic illnesses and health status predicted being former smoker. After controlling for method of data collection and sociodemographic variables, poorer self-described health status was a significant predictor of being a former smoker (p<0.001). Also, being diagnosed with diabetes (p<0.001), high cholesterol (p<0.001), and having a higher body mass index (p<0.01) were significant predictors of former smoking status. This study suggested that developing chronic diseases may lead people to quit smoking, and that time of diagnosis may be a very good time to promote smoking cessation.