OBJECTIVES :

To describe the smoking status among patients who participated in 15 surveys between 2010 and 2017.

METHODS :

This is a descriptive study of smoking status among patients who participated in 15 patient surveys between 2010 and 2017. HealthCore received permission from the New England Independent Review Board (IRB) to merge common demographic and clinical data elements from patient surveys it had conducted from 2010 to the present for research purposes. Among these data elements were self-reported smoking status. Smoking status was categorized as current smoker, former smoker, and never smoker. Other common elements were: study year, BMI category, gender, age, race/ethnicity, education status, occupation status, and household income. The associations between smoking status and demographic characteristics were assessed via 2-way cross-classifications using the chi-square test; statistical significance was determined as P­<0.05, using a 2-sided test.

RESULTS :

Of 8,721 patients, 15.0% were current smokers, 36.3% were former smokers, and 48.7% had never smoked. Males were more likely to be a smoker than females (16.5% vs 14.4%; P<0.001). Mixed race and African American patients had the highest percentage of current smokers while Asians had the lowest (20.0% vs 17.9% vs 10.2%, respectively; P<0.001). The proportion of current smokers decreased with level of education from 26.0% for patients with at most a high school education, to 6.2% for those with a graduate or professional degree (P<0.001). Smoking also decreased as household income increased, from 19.0% for those with a household income <$50,000 to 7.6% for those with household income >$100,000 (P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS :

Smoking status differs by gender, race/ethnicity, education and household income. These findings mirror national smoking rates for the various sub-groups. A better understanding of these relationships can lead to more focused policy efforts that will benefit individuals and improve their health.