[Study of prevalence and attitudes on smoking in patients on continuous home oxygen therapy. Toma study].

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this study is to analyse the prevalence, attitudes and characteristics of smoking in the population of patients subjected to Long Term Domiciliary Oxygen Therapy (LTDOT) in the Community of Madrid.

PATIENT AND METHODS

A representative sample of 845 subjects (of which 461 (46%) were male) was obtained from a total of 11,174 who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 78.25 years (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 77.55-78.95; SD=10.36). A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted based on questionnaires as well as cooximetry.

RESULTS

Forty-eight subjects (5.7%; 95%CI: 4.3%-7.5%) were smokers and 438 (51.8%; 95%CI: 48.5%-55.2%) were ex-smokers. The percentage of active smokers was higher in the 60 years or less subject group (χ(2); P<0.001). The large majority (75%) of smokers were men, their proportion being significantly higher than that of current non-smokers (χ(2); P<0.003). The mean score in the Fagerström Test was 3.6. More than 65% of smokers had their first cigarette up to 30 min from getting up in the morning, and 45% of these were in a preparation phase. Seventeen percent of these subjects said that they had not received advice on quitting smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a high rate of smoking in patients on LTDOT, with a higher probability of males and younger subjects continuing to smoke. There is a high level of physical dependency for nicotine.