TUESDAY, Oct. 30, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- More than one-third of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are active smokers, yet few of them receive evidence-based smoking cessation interventions, according to a study published in the Oct. 16 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Krishna K. Patel, M.D., from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and colleagues interviewed 1,272 participants in the Patient-Centered Outcomes Related to Treatment Practices in Peripheral Arterial Disease: Investigating Trajectories registry. Interviews assessed smoking status and cessation interventions at baseline and three, six, and 12 months.
The researchers found that at baseline, 37.3 percent of patients were active smokers, 51.9 percent were former smokers, and 10.8 percent were never smokers. Only 16 percent of active smokers were referred to cessation counseling, and 11 percent were prescribed pharmacologic treatment. The probability of quitting smoking at three months was 21 percent. Among those continuing to smoke at three months, the probability of quitting during the next nine months ranged from 11 to 12 percent. More than one-third (36 percent) of initial quitters relapsed, and 72 percent of all smokers continued to smoke at 12 months.
"Better strategies are needed to provide continuous cessation support," write the authors.
Two authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
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