The reduction of tuberculosis risks by smoking cessation

BMC Infectious Diseases

Research Article

Ting-Yuang Cheng¹  Hui-Ting Chan²  Min-Kuang Tsai²  Chi-Pang Wen²  Ta-Chien Chan³  Shan-Pou Tsai⁴ 

[1] Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;Division of Health Policy Research, Institute of Population Health Science, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan;Graduate Institute of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taiwan;University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas, USA;

关键词: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease;    Smoking Cessation;    Public Health Burden;    Regular Drinker;    Select Risk Factor;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2334-10-156

 received in 2009-10-08, accepted in 2010-06-07,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSmoking is known to aggravate tuberculosis (TB), but such information has been ignored in clinical practice, as it was not thought to be relevant. The aim of this study is to assess the benefits of smoking cessation on TB mortality reduction.MethodsThe study attempts to quantify smokers' risks on subsequent TB mortality and the change in such risks after smokers quit smoking. In this prospective cohort study, the TB mortality risks of smokers, never smokers and former smokers were compared, by using the Cox proportional model to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of TB.The cohort, consisting of 486,341 adults, participated in standard medical screening programs since 1994, including 5,036 with self-reported TB history. Of 15,268 deaths identified as of 2007, 77 were coded as TB.ResultsSmokers with self-reported TB history (1.2%) had very high TB mortality (HR = 44.02). Among those without self-reported TB history, smoking increased TB mortality by nine-fold (HR = 8.56), but when they quit smoking, the risk was reduced by more than half (65%), to a level not different from those who had never smoked. The overwhelming majority of TB deaths (83%) occurred among those without self-reported TB history. Given the high smoking prevalence and the high HR, smoking accounted for more than one-third (37.7%) of TB mortality in Taiwan. Smokers reported less TB history but died more from TB than those who had never smoked.ConclusionsSmokers had very high TB mortality, as much as nine times those who had never smoked, but once they quit, the risk reduced substantially and was similar to those who never smoked. Smoking cessation has benefits to the smokers far beyond reducing TB risk, but successful tobacco control could favorably impact the TB mortality rate and reduce this public health burden, which has long haunted the Taiwanese population. Smoking cessation could reduce nearly one-third of tuberculosis deaths.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Wen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010