207371 Gender and age difference in the association of home smoking with health-related quality of life of U.S. nonsmoking adults

Monday, November 9, 2009

Jae Eun Lee, Dr PH , RTRN Data Technology Coordinating Center, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
James Perkins, PhD , College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
Jung Hye Sung, ScD , Jackson Heart Study, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
William B. Ward, Dr PH , College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Won Jae Lee, Dr PH , Health Care Management, Kyungwon University, Sungnam, Kyunggido, South Korea
BACKGROUND: The association of secondhand smoke with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has only been known to a limited extent. This study aimed to determine both the association between home smoking (HS) and HRQoL of nonsmoking adults and their differential association by subgroups of gender and age, respectively.

METHODS: HRQoL was assessed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HRQOL-4 tool. HS was measured by asking the number of cigarettes per day of other family member(s) usually consumed per day by other family member(s) anywhere inside the home. The generalized linear models, adjusting for confounders, were used to analyze a valid sample of 1,259 nonsmokers aged ≥20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006.

RESULTS: After adjustments, higher HS was associated with lower general health (p=0.0285) and higher mentally unhealthy days (p=0.0370). However, this pattern differed by gender and age. While HS was associated with the inactive days due to physical and/or mental health (p=0.0106) for female nonsmokers, it was associated with general health (p=0.0174) and mentally unhealthy days (p=0.0146) for males. Among older adults (≥ 60 years) HS had no relationship to HRQoL but it did to general health (p=0.038) and inactive days due to physical and/or mental health (p=0.0100) for younger adults (20≤ and ≥60 years).

CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to secondhand smoke at home is associated with reduced HRQOL of nonsmokers, but apparently more strongly with mental health than physical health. Its association with HRQOL however differs according to the subgroups of gender and age.

Learning Objectives:
1. determine the association of home smoking with health-related quality of life of nonsmoking adults 2. find if there is any differential association between home smoking and HRQOL according to subgroups of gender and age.

Keywords: Smoking, Quality of Life

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Sr. biostatistician in RCMI Translational Research Network Data Technology Coordinating Center at Jackson State University and a scientist at Methodist Rehabilitation Center. I earned my doctoral degree in quantitative research method from Tulane University. Prior to joining JSU and MRC, I was an office director of decision science in Mississippi State Department of Health, an assistant professor of professional study in Dental School of University of Nevada at Las Vegas and a social epidemiologist in Harvard School of Public Health. I have actively involved in several population-based and clinical trial studies to which I contributed my quantitative skills and knowledge on research methodology. I am a lead or co-author of 25 scientific peer-reviewed articles and a presenter of 30 peer-reviewed abstracts at the national and international meetings. I have served as an editorial board member for Journal of Drug Education. My research interest is in quality of life, risky behavior, health disparities, heart study, psychometric measurement, GIS, quality of life research after neurological injury, health outcome measurement, and evaluation of health program.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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