Smokers ages 50+: who gets physician advice to quit?
BACKGROUND
Smoking-related morbidity and mortality, and benefits associated with quitting, extend across the life span. Health care provider interventions enhance quitting. The present study examined perceived influence of physician advice to quit and characteristics of subjects receiving this advice.


METHODS
Subjects were 1,454 smokers ages 50+ with at least one physician visit in the past year. Subjects were surveyed at baseline for receipt of and reactions to physician advice to quit and for smoking, health, and demographic characteristics.


RESULTS
Over half of subjects welcomed physician advice to quit, about half said the advice influenced their quitting decision "extremely" or "quite a lot," and about one-third indicated that it increased their confidence in quitting. Physicians were more likely to advise sicker patients, indicated by poorer health status, at least one past year hospitalization, and presence of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or respiratory diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
Midlife and older smokers reacted generally favorably to physician advice to quit. Physicians were more likely to advise patients with commonly recognized smoking-related diseases. Discrepancies were noted in advice given to sicker vs healthier patients. Additional physician training in less commonly recognized smoking-related illnesses, intervening with healthier patients to prevent disease, and enhancing patients' confidence in quitting may improve outcomes.
Ossip-Klein
D J
DJ
Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York 14642, USA. deborah_ossipklein@urmc.rochester.edu
McIntosh
S
S
Utman
C
C
Burton
K
K
Spada
J
J
Guido
J
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires