Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jun;5(2):115-22.
doi: 10.1007/s11764-010-0147-5. Epub 2010 Sep 2.

Smoking and quality of life among female survivors of breast, colorectal and endometrial cancers in a prospective cohort study

Sekwon Jang  1 , Anna Prizment, Tufia Haddad, Kim Robien, Deann Lazovich
Affiliations

Smoking and quality of life among female survivors of breast, colorectal and endometrial cancers in a prospective cohort study

Sekwon Jang et al. J Cancer Surviv. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the association of smoking and quality of life (QOL) among survivors of breast, colorectal, or endometrial cancers.

Methods: The study included women who joined the Iowa Women's Health Study in 1986 and were subsequently diagnosed with breast, colorectal, or endometrial cancers through 2004 (n = 1920). Smoking status was reported at baseline and in 2004; QOL was assessed in 2004 using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios were calculated to examine the associations of smoking status and poor QOL (score lower than one-half a standard deviation below the mean of the non-smokers).

Results: Compared with non-smokers, persistent smokers had higher likelihood of reporting poor Physical Functioning (odds ratio [OR] = 2.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.32-4.37), Mental Health (OR = 1.92, CI = 1.09-3.40), and Role Emotional (OR = 2.01, CI = 1.10-3.66), whereas former smokers had higher likelihood of reporting poor Physical Functioning (OR = 1.65, CI = 1.10-2.45), Mental Health (OR = 1.62, CI = 1.11-2.37), and General Health (OR = 1.51, CI = 1.03-2.21). A statistically significant trend toward higher likelihood of poor QOL was observed across smoking groups in Vitality, Physical Functioning, Mental Health, and Role Emotional. Further adjustment for physical activity resulted in attenuation of the odds ratios and p-values for trend.

Conclusion: Among women with breast, colorectal, or endometrial cancers, smokers were more likely than former or non-smokers to have poor QOL. Physical activity explained, in part, the association between smoking status and QOL in our study.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Age-adjusted SF-36 scores according to smoking status
* p<0.05 compared to non-smokers Abbreviations: SF-36, Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36; Phys, Physical; func, functioning; Hlth, Health; Emot, Emotional; Soc, Social; Gen, General
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Giovino GA. The tobacco epidemic in the United States. Am J Prev Med. 2007;33:S318–326. - PubMed
    1. National Cancer Institute. Smoking cessation and continued risk in cancer patients (PDQ) Available from URL: http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/supportivecare/smokingcessation/he....
    1. Duffy SA, Terrell JE, Valenstein M, Ronis DL, Copeland LA, Connors M. Effect of smoking, alcohol, and depression on the quality of life of head and neck cancer patients. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2002;24:140–147. - PubMed
    1. Gritz ER, Carmack CL, de Moor C, Coscarelli A, Schacherer CW, Meyers EG, et al. First year after head and neck cancer: quality of life. J Clin Oncol. 1999;17:352–360. - PubMed
    1. Jensen K, Jensen AB, Grau C. Smoking has negative impact upon health related quality of life after treatment for head and neck cancer. Oral Oncology. 2007;43:187–192. - PubMed

Publication types