TY  - JOUR
T1  - SMoking and weight change after new health diagnoses in older adults
AU  - Keenan PS
Y1  - 2009/02/09
N1  - 10.1001/archinternmed.2008.557
JO  - Archives of Internal Medicine
SP  - 237
EP  - 242
VL  - 169
IS  - 3
N2  - Background 
    Smoking and patterns of diet and activity are the 2 leading underlying causes of death in the United States, yet the factors that prompt individuals to adopt healthier habits are not well understood.Methods 
    This study was undertaken to determine whether individuals who have experienced recent adverse health events are more likely to quit smoking or to lose weight than those without recent events using Health and Retirement Study panel survey data for 20 221 overweight or obese individuals younger than 75 years and 7764 smokers from 1992 to 2000.Results 
    In multivariate analyses, adults with recent diagnoses of stroke, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes mellitus were 3.2 times more likely to quit smoking than were individuals without new diagnoses (P < .001). Among overweight or obese individuals younger than 75 years, those with recent diagnoses of lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes mellitus lost −0.35 U of body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) compared with those without these new diagnoses (P < .001). Smokers with multiple new diagnoses were 6 times more likely to quit smoking compared with those with no new diagnoses. The odds of quitting smoking were 5 times greater in individuals with a new diagnosis of heart disease, and body mass index declined by 0.6 U in overweight or obese individuals with a new diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (P < .001).Conclusions 
    Across a range of health conditions, new diagnoses can serve as a window of opportunity that prompts older adults to change health habits, in particular, to quit smoking. Quality improvement efforts targeting secondary as well as primary prevention through the health care system are likely well founded.
SN  - 0003-9926
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2008.557
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2008.557
ER  -