223410 Differences in smoking prevalence by type of disability

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Ismaila Ramon, MPH , National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA
Elizabeth Courtney-Long, MA, MSPH , National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Alissa Cyrus, MPH , Ncbddd, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Brian S. Armour, PhD , NCBDDD/DHDD/Disability and Health Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of death in the United States. The prevalence of cigarette smoking is substantially higher among people with disabilities than those without. However, there is scant information on the prevalence of smoking by type of disability. To fill this gap, we analyzed national surveillance data to quantify smoking prevalence by disability type. Data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey were used to estimate smoking prevalence by disability type: basic actions difficulty, a chronic limitation in movement and sensory, emotional, or cognitive functioning; and complex activity limitation, a limitation in one's ability to participate fully in activities such as self-care, working and maintaining a household. Multivariate analyses were used to assess the effect of disability type on smoking prevalence. Adults with disabilities were significantly more likely than those without to smoke, (29.0% vs. 17.5%, p<.001). For those experiencing ‘basic actions difficulty'; prevalence (±95% CI) of smoking was 29.5% (±2.2%), 44.4% (± 4.4%), 30.2% (±2.5%), and 35.6% (±5.7%) respectively, for movement difficulty, emotional difficulty, sensory difficulty, and cognitive difficulty. Among those experiencing ‘complex activity limitation'; prevalence of smoking was 34.3% (±3.7%), 32.9% (±2.9%) and 31.2% (±5.5%) for social limitation, work limitation and self-care limitation respectively.

Providing effective cessation interventions is key to reducing cigarette smoking, especially in subpopulations with high rates of smoking. Although comprehensive tobacco control programs have been shown to decrease tobacco use in the United States, they remain underfunded. Thus, estimating smoking prevalence by disability type can assist in allocating scarce resources.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Epidemiology
Program planning
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
(1)Estimate smoking prevalence by type of disabilityusing NHIS data from 2008. (2)Identify disparities in smoking prevalence by disability.

Keywords: Disability, Smoking

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiologist by training and have provided epidemiological and program support to Disability Prevention Programs nationally.
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.