Smoking behavior in men hospitalized with cardiovascular disease in Korea: a cross-sectional descriptive study

Korean men have the highest rate of smoking in the world, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the second leading cause of death in this population. The study's objective was to describe factors related to smoking behavior in men hospitalized with CVD in Korea.

In collecting data for this cross-sectional study, a structured questionnaire was administered using a guided interview and medical record abstraction.

The study sample included 97 men with a mean age of 54.1 (+/-9.6) years. Most of the men were married (85.6%) and employed (79.4%), and had graduated from high school or higher levels of education (74.2%). Sixty-five percent of the men were addicted to nicotine. Lower education (odds ratio [OR]: 3.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-10.14), starting to smoke at an early age (OR: 3.30, 95% CI: 1.14-9.50), and smoking more cigarettes per day (OR: 9.71, 95% CI: 2.31-40.90) were statistically significant independent predictors of their level of addiction. Twenty-two percent of the men smoked during their hospitalization, a behavior that was significantly associated only with their intention to quit smoking (OR: .09, 95% CI: .03-.31).

This was the first study to investigate smoking behavior in men hospitalized with CVD in Korea. Its findings strongly suggest that smoking-cessation intervention is needed in this population and that Korean health care providers must be properly educated and trained to provide this service.