Smoking Status Among Patients With Newly Diagnosed Lung Cancer in Taiwan.
Chia-Chen Yang, Chien-Ying Liu, Kwua-Yun Wang and 3 others
PMID 30395018WHAT IT FOUND
Among 406 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients, 47% had never smoked; 44% of ever-smokers were current smokers.
Current smokers, compared with former smokers, were younger, less active, lived with smokers, and had lower confidence refusing cigarettes.
Key findings
01Of 406 patients, 191 (47%) were never-smokers and 215 (53%) were ever-smokers; among ever-smokers, 94 (44%) were current smokers.
02Compared with former smokers, current smokers were more likely to be younger, not exercise regularly, live with a smoker, and have lower confidence refusing to smoke.
03Only lower confidence refusing to smoke separated current smokers from recent quitters.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants were not randomly sampled, so the results may not apply to other lung cancer populations. The analysis used baseline data and was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that any factor caused smoking status. Only baseline data were used from a study that followed patients monthly for 6 months, so changes in smoking status over time were not reported. Smoking status was partly self-reported and may have been biased by social desirability, although exhaled carbon monoxide was higher in current smokers. Self-efficacy and smoking status were measured at the same time, so the study cannot tell which came first.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these associations as proof that lack of exercise, living with a smoker, or low confidence caused continued smoking. The study measured all factors at one baseline visit and did not test a smoking cessation intervention.