title: Trends in cigarette smoking and cessation among Medicare managed care recipients, 2005-2012.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine recent trends in cigarette smoking among older (65 years and above) adults in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey dataset to estimate rates of smoking, quitting, and (re)starting from 2005 to 2012. Medicare Advantage enrollees completed mail surveys at baseline and two years later. We included subgroup analyses by sex, race, and self-rated health.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Smoking prevalence declined slightly, with most of the decline occurring over the course of a single year (2007-2008). Rates of quitting declined slightly (meaning fewer people were quitting), and (re)starting marginally declined from 2005 to 2012. There were no substantial differences between subgroups. We did not observe any significant changes in prevalence or cessation of smoking among Medicare Advantage participants during this time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Smoking remains a public health problem for older adults. We did not find evidence of significant changes in smoking prevalence or cessation for older adults during the time period we examined.
authors.affiliation: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, United States.
authors.forename: Jacob Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Isenberg
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States.
authors.forename: Ana R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Quiñones
authors.affiliation: Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR, United States; Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Slatore
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.
authors.forename: Will C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Bryson
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Seattle VA Medical Center, Seattle, WA, United States. Electronic address: sthielke@u.washington.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Thielke
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D006278:Medicare; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000639:trends*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Medicare Advantage; Medicare Health Outcomes Survey; Smoking cessation