TY - JOUR
T1 - Cigarette smoking behaviors and beliefs in persons living with hepatitis C
AU - Shuter, Jonathan
AU - Litwin, Alain H.
AU - Sulkowski, Mark S.
AU - Feinstein, Addi
AU - Bursky-Tammam, Avram
AU - Maslak, Stephen
AU - Weinberger, Andrea H.
AU - Esan, Hannah
AU - Segal, Kate S.
AU - Norton, Brianna
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge with gratitude the support of the staffand patients of the Montefiore Medical Center Comprehensive Health Care Center in the conduct of the study. JS's effort on this project was supported in part by awards 1R01DA036445, 1R01CA192954, and 1R34DA037042 from the National Institutes of Health. BN's effort of this project was supported in part by award 1K23DA039060 from the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/7/1
Y1 - 2017/7/1
N2 - Background and Rationale:: Tobacco use is common among persons living with hepatitis C (PLHC), yet little is known about their smoking behaviors and beliefs. Modern hepatitis C treatment offers a unique opportunity to intensively engage this population about other health risks, including smoking. Main Results:: Seventy-seven tobacco users (40 hepatitis C virus [HCV] seropositive and 37 HCV seronegative) enrolled in an interview study in a New York City clinic. The mean age was 51.6, 57.1% were male, 40.3% Latino, and 49.4% black. 67.5% were single and 18.2% were employed. HCV+ smokers differed from HCV- smokers in having a higher prevalence of illicit substance use, depression, and hypertension. PLHC smokers were highly motivated to quit, with 52.5% stating an intention to quit within 30 days. Most of the PLHC smokers had used cessation-directed pharmacotherapy, but almost none had tried a quitline or a quit smoking website. PLHC smokers scored higher on the intrapersonal locus of control subscale. Almost a quarter (22.5%) believed that smoking "helped fight the HCV." Conclusions:: PLHC smokers have a high burden of psychiatric and substance use comorbidity. They exhibit characteristics that distinguish them from uninfected smokers, and many harbor false beliefs about imagined benefits of smoking. They are highly motivated to quit but underutilize cessation aids. Without aggressive intervention, smoking-related morbidity will likely mute the health benefits and longevity gains associated with hepatitis C treatment. Research such as this may prove useful in guiding the development of future tobacco treatment strategies. Implications:: This is the first paper to examine, in detail, sociobehavioral correlates of tobacco use in PLHC. PLHC are recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services as a high-priority health disparities population. We are not aware of any tobacco treatment services designed specifically for PLHC. The first step in designing an intervention is defining the characteristics of the target group. Our findings will begin to address this need, and may prove useful in optimizing tobacco treatment strategies for smokers living with hepatitis C.
AB - Background and Rationale:: Tobacco use is common among persons living with hepatitis C (PLHC), yet little is known about their smoking behaviors and beliefs. Modern hepatitis C treatment offers a unique opportunity to intensively engage this population about other health risks, including smoking. Main Results:: Seventy-seven tobacco users (40 hepatitis C virus [HCV] seropositive and 37 HCV seronegative) enrolled in an interview study in a New York City clinic. The mean age was 51.6, 57.1% were male, 40.3% Latino, and 49.4% black. 67.5% were single and 18.2% were employed. HCV+ smokers differed from HCV- smokers in having a higher prevalence of illicit substance use, depression, and hypertension. PLHC smokers were highly motivated to quit, with 52.5% stating an intention to quit within 30 days. Most of the PLHC smokers had used cessation-directed pharmacotherapy, but almost none had tried a quitline or a quit smoking website. PLHC smokers scored higher on the intrapersonal locus of control subscale. Almost a quarter (22.5%) believed that smoking "helped fight the HCV." Conclusions:: PLHC smokers have a high burden of psychiatric and substance use comorbidity. They exhibit characteristics that distinguish them from uninfected smokers, and many harbor false beliefs about imagined benefits of smoking. They are highly motivated to quit but underutilize cessation aids. Without aggressive intervention, smoking-related morbidity will likely mute the health benefits and longevity gains associated with hepatitis C treatment. Research such as this may prove useful in guiding the development of future tobacco treatment strategies. Implications:: This is the first paper to examine, in detail, sociobehavioral correlates of tobacco use in PLHC. PLHC are recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services as a high-priority health disparities population. We are not aware of any tobacco treatment services designed specifically for PLHC. The first step in designing an intervention is defining the characteristics of the target group. Our findings will begin to address this need, and may prove useful in optimizing tobacco treatment strategies for smokers living with hepatitis C.
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U2 - 10.1093/ntr/ntw212
DO - 10.1093/ntr/ntw212
M3 - Article
C2 - 27613890
AN - SCOPUS:85021724281
SN - 1462-2203
VL - 19
SP - 836
EP - 844
JO - Nicotine and Tobacco Research
JF - Nicotine and Tobacco Research
IS - 7
ER -