Prevalence of cigarette smoking and attempts to quit in a population-based cohort with spinal cord injury.
OBJECTIVE
The purposes of this study were to assess (i) prevalence of smoking in a population-based cohort of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), (ii) history of quit attempts and (iii) the relationship between access to health care, socioeconomic status (SES), smoking status and history of quit attempts.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Population-based SCI cohort.


METHODS
A total of 833 adults with SCI of at least 1-year duration were identified through a population-based surveillance system. Current smoking status, attempts to quit smoking in the past year and seeking professional help to quit smoking were assessed.


RESULTS
Over one-third (35.3%) of the sample were current smokers, of whom 75.4% had ever tried to quit, and of these, only 27.9% had ever sought professional help. Those with lower SES were more likely to be current smokers, as were those with less access to health care. Access to care was positively related to likelihood of having sought professional help.


CONCLUSIONS
We found rates of smoking among persons with SCI to be well above national prevalence rates. We also found poorer access to care related to a greater likelihood of being a current smoker, had no association with trying to quit smoking, but decreased likelihood of using cessation support among those who did attempt to quit.
Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
L L
LL
Saunders
Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
J S
JS
Krause
Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
M
M
Saladin
College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
M J
MJ
Carpenter
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018672:Community Health Planning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*