The impact of lung function case-finding tests on smoking behaviour: A nested randomised trial within a case-finding...

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Increasing awareness of lung health may aid smoking cessation.
• Lung function tests and questionnaires are potential tools for this purpose.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of case-finding lung function tests for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on smoking behavior.
• To determine if immediate lung function testing influences smoking cessation rates.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial design was used, with participants randomized to receive lung function tests immediately or be on a waiting list.
• The study included current smokers aged 35 years or older.
• Outcome measures included self-reported smoking cessation and number of cigarettes smoked at 2, 3, or 6-month follow-ups.

Main Results:

• Smoking cessation rates were similar between the immediate testing group (8.8%) and the waiting list control group (9.2%).
• Completing lung function tests did not significantly impact smoking cessation (OR 1.00, 95% CI, 0.57-1.77).
• Sensitivity analyses and negative binomial regression for cigarettes smoked also showed no significant effect.

Conclusions:

• This trial provides no evidence that lung function tests improve smoking cessation in smokers aged 35 and over.
• A slight decrease in smoking cessation odds was observed in the immediate testing group when missing data was accounted for.