Predictors of Smoking Abstinence After First-Ever Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Background and Purpose-Predictors of smoking abstinence in stroke survivors remain largely unexplored. The present study addressed the relationship between degrees of nicotine dependence and smoking abstinence 3 months after ischemic stroke. Methods-One hundred smokers with first-ever ischemic stroke were prospectively enrolled to the study. Correlates of nicotine dependence as well as sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were assessed during hospitalization.Smoking status was determined at 3-month follow-up. Results-Significant predictors of smoking abstinence at follow-up included: the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence score, the Barthel Index, the number of smoking household members, and the Geriatric Depression Scale score. Conclusions-Our results suggest that smoking cessation after ischemic stroke can be determined by the interplay of psychobiological and environmental factors.

Smoking Cessation 1 Year Poststroke and Damage to the Insular Cortex

“…16 In the present study, smoking cessation has not been associated to female sex as was the case in other cited studies 16,19 nor to worse functional dependence. 18,19,34 With regard to the variables related to smoking history, our results agree with Sienkiewick et al, 35 in which people who had stopped smoking presented less urge to smoke. However, in contrast to this study, patients who had stopped smoking in the present sample were not found to have had a different level of tobacco consumption and less tobacco dependence as those who did not stop smoking during the follow-up period.…”

“…16,19,25,35 At 1 year, lower percentages have been reported to those in the present study (30%) 34 as well as similar percentages (41.1%). 16 In the present study, smoking cessation has not been associated to female sex as was the case in other cited studies 16,19 nor to worse functional dependence.…”

“…Eight earlier studies on smoking cessation in patients with stroke have given data relating to the profile of smokers, the prevalence of smoking, and related factors, 16 -19,21,25,34,35 but only the study of Sienkiewicz-Jarosz et al 35 that investigated factors relating to smoking cessation in 98 patients with acute stroke focused on a group with a similar sociodemographic profile to the present study in terms of age and the type of convalescence. The demographic characteristics of the population of the present study mirror those of the general population in our country with a higher percentage of smokers in adults Ͻ65 years and a higher proportion in men.…”

Reasons for Quitting Smoking in Patients with First-Ever Ischemic Stroke

“…Building motivation to quit smoking could be seen as a multidimensional process determined by biological, psychological, social, and economic factors [1,2,3,4]. Although smoking cessation is considered as one of the most effective methods of secondary stroke prevention [2,5], little is known about smoking habits in stroke survivors who were active smokers before stroke onset.…”

“…Although smoking cessation is considered as one of the most effective methods of secondary stroke prevention [2,5], little is known about smoking habits in stroke survivors who were active smokers before stroke onset. For example, reasons for quit attempts in stroke patients remain largely unexplored.…”