Association between smoking cessation and short-term healthcare utilisation: Results from an international prospective cohort study (ATTEMPT)
| Author(s)
Dr Emma Beard, Dr Lion Shahab, Dr Susan Curry and Professor Robert West
| | Presenter(s) |
Dr Emma Beard Research Associate, Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London | Abstract Aims: Previous studies have found that smoking cessation results in a short-term increase in health-care utilisation. This may be because ‘sicker’ smokers are more likely to stop smoking. The current study assessed the association between smoking cessation and health-care utilisation (emergency-room (ER) visits, hospitalisation, whether hospitalisation required surgery, and health-care appointments), adjusting for pre-cessation physical and mental health conditions.
Methods: Data come from the ATTEMPT Cohort, a multi-national prospective study of smokers in the United States, Canada, UK, France and Spain, that lasted 18 months (with follow-ups every 3 months).
Results: 8,252, 4,779 and 1,945 baseline episodes of smoking were available for 3, 6 and 12 months respectively. Of these, 8.3% (n=205), 1.8% (n=40) and 0.9% (n=14), were followed by 3 months, 6 months and 12 months abstinence. No significant differences were found between 3, 6 or 12 months abstinence and ER visits, hospitalisation and whether hospitalisation required surgery or health-care visits. However, six month smoking cessation episodes were associated with higher odds of reporting an appointment with a dietician.
Conclusion: Immediate short-term increase or decrease in health-care utilisation does not appear to be associated with smoking cessation after adjusting for pre-cessation morbidities.
| Presenter biography Emma Beard is a Research Associate at University College London. She completed her PhD under the Supervision of Professor Robert West, Professor Ann McNeill and Professor Susan Michie in 2011. Her research focuses on tobacco harm reduction and smoking cessation.
| Source of funding: This study was funded by SAR&D and the report write-up by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies (UKCTCs) and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT). Data for the online assessments were collected by the Harris Interactive Inc. on behalf of RTI Health Solutions (RTI HS) and Sanofi-Aventis Recherche et Developpement (SAR&D). RTI-HS and SAR&D were responsible for the study design and questionnaire development. RTI-HS was responsible for study coordination, data entry and cleaning. SAR&D, CRUK, the UKCTCs and the NCSCT, were not responsible for data analysis or the interpretation, and were not involved in the preparation, review or approval of this manuscript.
| Declaration of interest: Emma Beard has received funding from Pfizer.
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