Smoking in elderly patients admitted to long-term care facilities.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of smoking among elderly patients admitted to long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and to determine whether the degree of nicotine dependence is associated with sociodemographic variables, affective ties, motivation for smoking cessation and depression.


METHODS
Cross-sectional, population-based study involving 573 individuals over the age of 60, admitted to 13 LTCFs in the Federal District of Brasília, Brazil. We analyzed the following variables: type of LTCF, gender, age, level of education, monthly income, marital status, retirement status, affective ties, probable depression, motivation for smoking cessation and degree of nicotine dependence. In order to collect these data, the following instruments were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire; the Flanagan Quality of Life Scale; the Mini-Mental State Examination; the Geriatric Depression Scale; the Richmond test; and the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence.


RESULTS
The prevalence of smokers in the study sample (573 individuals) was 23.0%. Of the 132 smokers, there were 90 males (25.8%) and 42 females (18.7%). Of these, 116 smokers were included in the study, 70 of whom (60.3%) presented with probable depression. The degree of nicotine dependence was found to be significantly associated with level of education, monthly income, affective ties, motivation for smoking cessation and probable depression, although not with the type of LTCF, gender, age, retirement status or marital status.


CONCLUSIONS
Among elderly patients admitted to LTCFs in the Federal District of Brasília, the prevalence of smoking is high and the motivation for smoking cessation is low.
Carvalho
Anderson Albuquerque de
AA
Hospital das Forças Armadas, Lourdes Santana College, Brasília, Brazil. anderson.carvalho@ls.edu.br
Gomes
Lucy
L
Loureiro
Altair Macedo Lahud
AM
D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology