Smoking Status, Physical Health-Related Quality of Life, and Mortality in Middle-Aged and Older Women
Authors
Holahan, Carole K.Holahan, Charles J.
North, Rebecca J.
Hayes, Rashelle B.
Powers, Daniel A.
Ockene, Judith K.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral MedicineDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2013-03-01Keywords
SmokingQuality of Life
Health Status
Mortality
Women's Health
Behavioral Disciplines and Activities
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Preventive Medicine
Public Health
Women's Health
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Women who smoke, particularly older women, have been relatively neglected in smoking research. There is a lack of knowledge concerning the relation of level of smoking to quality of life and mortality among middle-aged and older women smokers. METHODS: This study examined the relation of smoking status to physical health-related quality of life (PHRQL) and total mortality in women in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study. Participants were 90,849 postmenopausal women, who were an average age of 63.6 years at baseline. Analyses used multiple linear and Cox proportional hazards regression and controlled for age, educational level, and ethnicity. Never-smokers were the reference group. RESULTS: We found that smoking status was significantly related to PHRQL cross-sectionally at baseline and prospectively at a 3-year follow-up, with those who smoked having lower PHRQL. Heavier smokers showed large, clinically meaningful associations with PHRQL and light smokers showed small associations. In addition, we found that the smoking status at baseline was significantly related to 10-year total mortality. Both light and heavier smoking at baseline significantly correlated with higher mortality risk; however, the relationship of smoking to mortality was dose dependent. Among former smokers, those who had smoked longer showed significantly lower PHRQL and significantly increased mortality risk. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that the risks of smoking may not be evident to light smokers and that educational interventions targeted to middle-aged and older women stressing the consequences of light smoking may be particularly beneficial.Source
Holahan CK, Holahan CJ, North RJ, Hayes RB, Powers DA, Ockene JK. Smoking status, physical health-related quality of life, and mortality in middle-aged and older women. Nicotine Tob Res. 2013 Mar;15(3):662-9. doi: 10.1093/ntr/nts182. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1093/ntr/nts182Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/44807PubMed ID
22965789Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/ntr/nts182
Scopus Count
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