People with mobility impairment are more likely to start smoking and find it difficult to quit due to secondary issues like depression, low employment and related medical issues, a new study finds.
The study was conducted by researchers from The Miriam Hospital. They analyzed over 13,308 adults aged 21-85 years old with mobility impairments and who used special ambulatory equipment to walk.
In the age group 21-44 years, 39.2 percent of those with mobility impairments were smokers compared to 21.5 without such impairments. Within the 45 to 65-year-old group, 31.2 percent mobility impaired were smokers versus 20.7 percent without mobility impairments.
Researchers also found that in the first group, women had the highest smoking prevalence (45.9 percent). They also noted that people with such impairments, across both groups were less likely to quit smoking.
"People with physical disabilities constitute 16.2 percent of the population and the majority of the population will experience physical disability at some point during their lifetime," lead researcher Belinda Borrelli said in a press statement. "However, the prevalence of smoking among people with disabilities was unknown prior to our paper. Our particular interest was in pinpointing smoking prevalence among those who use a device to help them get around. Literature indicates that those who use mobility aids have higher rates of depression, and in the general population, this is associated with greater smoking rates and lower likelihood of quitting smoking."
The study authors said that these findings raise some serious health concerns. By taking to smoking, mobility impaired individuals are at a higher risk of worsening their condition further. Continued smoking exacerbates physical disabilities and causes or contributes to many secondary conditions including respiratory and circulatory difficulties, muscle weakness, delayed wound healing, worsening arthritis and osteoporosis.
The study authors believe that treatments that work for the general population might not work with this group as there are other issues involved.
"We speculate that smokers with mobility impairments may need more intensive treatment given their greater risk factors for treatment failure such as high depression rates and stress levels, less physical activity and multiple medical co-morbidities, coupled with high unemployment and low income," they said.
The study recommends a combination of psychosocial and pharmalogical treatment.
The study was published online in the American Journal of Public Health.
