Delawareans with current asthma who smoke--a snapshot

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• Adults with asthma often experience respiratory symptoms.
• Asthma management guidelines do not explicitly address smoking cessation.
• Cigarette smoking is a known trigger for asthma exacerbations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if adults with asthma in Delaware are less likely to smoke cigarettes compared to the general population.
• To investigate the prevalence of cigarette smoking among asthmatic adults in Delaware.
• To inform targeted public health interventions for smoking cessation in asthmatic populations.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study utilizing data from the Delaware Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (2011-2012).
• Sample included 8,560 Delaware adults (ages 18+), with 827 reporting a physician diagnosis of asthma.
• Analysis employed sampling weights and controlled for demographic factors (gender, race, education).

Main Results:

• The prevalence of cigarette smoking was similar between Delawareans with asthma (20.91%) and without asthma (20.30%).
• Younger age groups (18-44 years) exhibited significantly higher odds of current smoking compared to older adults (65+).
• Young adults (18-44) were six times more likely to be current smokers than the 65+ reference group, irrespective of asthma status.

Conclusions:

• Adults with asthma in Delaware do not demonstrate a selective avoidance of cigarette smoking.
• Current smoking cessation and prevention strategies may not adequately reach or impact adults with asthma.
• Public health initiatives should specifically target adults with asthma for smoking cessation interventions.