Examining the association between adverse childhood experiences and smoking-exacerbated illnesses

Adults who smoke increase their likelihood of death from smoking-exacerbated illnesses. The presence of illnesses exacerbated by smoking can be a powerful incentive to quit smoking. However, having a smoking-exacerbated illness does not stop all patients from smoking. Understanding that smoking may be a coping mechanism for stress, this study examined the association between the experiences of adverse events in childhood with continued smoking in adulthood among individuals and a smoking-exacerbated illness.

This retrospective observational study used 2014-2015 data from the South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.

We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the impact of adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure on current smoking status.

A total of 6321 respondents reported having a smoking-exacerbated illness. The most frequently reported categories of smoking-exacerbated illnesses were current asthma (63.9%), previous asthma (13.0%), and diabetes (12.3%). Overall, 62.4% of respondents had at least one ACE, with 20.3% of respondents having four or more ACEs. Respondents with one to three ACEs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.38; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.37-1.40) and four or more ACEs (aOR 2.89; CI 2.86-2.92) were both significantly more likely to smoke than respondents with no ACEs, even in the presence of illnesses exacerbated by smoking.

Results suggest that ACE exposure may influence risky health behaviors in adulthood, such as continued smoking even in the presence of illnesses that are exacerbated by smoking. Given that smoking has been found to be a coping mechanism for adversity, anti-smoking efforts might benefit from designing interventions and treatment plans that address ACE exposure.