Cessation of smoking after first-ever stroke - A follow-up study

Background and Purpose-Cessation of smoking is widely recommended in patients with stroke to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and recurrent stroke but little is known regarding how patients modify their smoking habits after a stroke We used data from a prospective follow up study to assess modification of smoking habits and to identify predictors of persistent smoking after first ever stroke Methods-All patients admitted to the only neurology department of Funen County (465 000 inhabitants) with first ever stroke from August 1 1999 to January 31 2001 were prospectively identified A comprehensive structured interview was completed both during hospitalization and at 6 month follow up The interview comprised questions on education occupation marital status lifestyle concomitant diseases and functional disability We estimated the relative risk of persistent smoking at follow up using unconditional logistic regression Results-We identified 734 patients with a first ever stroke in the study period One hundred three patients (14%) died in the 6 month period after their admission A total of 511 patients (81%) who participated in the interview both on admission and at follow up were included in the present study Among 198 patients (38 7%) who were current smokers on admission 43 patients (21 7%) gave up smoking within 6 months of suffering a stroke Sex functional status and sociodemographic characteristics were independently associated with persistent smoking Conclusions-Our results suggest that more efficient antismoking counseling is required to reduce the proportion of persistent smokers after stroke This counseling should take into account the increased risk of persistent smoking in men patients with no disability blue collar workers and patients living alone.