Nicotine dependence affects cardiopulmonary endurance and physical activity in college students in Henan, China

This study aimed to investigate the impact of smoking on physical activity level, emotional status, and cardiopulmonary endurance in healthy young Chinese college students in order to develop future nicotine dependence management solutions.

This survey-based study was conducted in college students aged 19-26 years who were currently smoking. Cardio-respiratory endurance was assessed by estimating VO₂max. Participants were given a questionnaire containing five factors from the Cigarette Dependence Scale-5 (CDS-5), also assessed were variables for physical activity level, using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), and emotional status. The sports training behavior was assessed using the Coaching Behavior Scale for Sport (CBS-S).

A total of 400 participants were randomly selected and included in the study. All of them were current smokers. The highest percentage of participants had a score of 4 on the CDS-5 (n=93, 23.2%), scored 3-5 on each module of sports training, and experienced negative emotions, particularly depression (n=172; 43.0%) and anger (n=162; 40.5%). VO₂max levels were significantly lower in participants with high nicotine dependence (CDS-5 score 4-5), and they correlated negatively with CDS-5 scores (r= -0.883, p<0.001). Nicotine dependence scores were negatively correlated with physical activity levels (r= -0.830, p<0.001), and high nicotine dependence scores were independently related to low physical activity (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=14.66; 95% CI: 4.98-43.19 , p <0.001).

Tobacco smoking has a negative impact on emotional status. It also reduces cardiopulmonary endurance by reducing VO₂max levels and negatively affects physical activity. Accordingly, it is critical to implement effective tobacco prevention programs for college students, such as a smoking warning system and physical exercise training, as well as to educate them on how to quit smoking.