Association of Smoking in the Home With Lung Cancer Worry, Perceived Risk, and Synergistic Risk.
Karen M Butler, Mary Kay Rayens, Amanda T Wiggins and 2 others
PMID 28222077WHAT IT FOUND
Living in a home with smokers was associated with higher lung cancer worry and perceived personal risk.
However, these same individuals reported lower awareness of the combined danger of smoking and radon exposure, and held poorer views of their own health habits.
Key findings
01Participants with smoking in the home reported higher lung cancer worry and perceived lung cancer risk compared to those without smoking in the home.
02Participants living in homes with smoking had lower perception of the synergistic risk of radon and smoking compared to those in homes without smoking.
03Health-related self-concept was significantly lower among those living in a home with smoking compared with those living in a home without smoking.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was largely White and non-Hispanic and relatively well educated, limiting generalizability to more diverse or lower socioeconomic populations. Quota sampling was used, resulting in demographic differences between the smoking and nonsmoking groups, though demographics were controlled in the analysis. The study was cross-sectional, so it identifies associations rather than causal relationships. The measure for synergistic risk was a single item and conceptualized as risk to 'someone' rather than the self, which may have affected responses.
Declared interests
None reported in the text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that high lung cancer worry leads to accurate understanding of all risk factors. The study found that those most worried about their personal risk due to home smoking actually had a lower perception of the specific synergistic danger of combining radon and smoke.