Stroke survivors less likely than cancer survivors to quit smoking
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For smokers who survive a stroke, the overall quit ratio is 60.8 percent, with stroke survivors less likely to quit smoking than cancer survivors, according to a study published online Nov. 17 in Stroke.
Neal S. Parikh, M.D., from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and colleagues performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2013 to 2019 to examine smoking cessation among stroke and cancer survivors. Quit ratios were summarized for stroke survivors and were compared for stroke and cancer survivors.
The researchers found that the overall quit ratio was 60.8 percent among 4,434,604 Americans with a history of stroke and smoking. There was variation in quit ratios by age group, sex, race and ethnicity, and geographic factors. Marked geographic variation was seen in quit ratios, ranging from 48.3 to 71.5 percent in Kentucky and California, respectively. After accounting for differences in demographics and smoking-related comorbidities, stroke survivors were less likely to have quit smoking than cancer survivors (odds ratio, 0.72).
“Important next steps are devising and testing optimal smoking cessation programs for people who have had a stroke or mini-stroke,” Parikh said in a statement. “Programs for patients with stroke and cardiovascular disease should be as robust as smoking cessation programs offered to patients with cancer.”
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
