Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease In North Carolina, David Brown, Roy Pleasants, Jill Ohar, Monica Kraft, James Donohue, David Mannino, Winston Liao, Harry Herric

David C. Brown

Background:

Comparisons of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and adults in the general population are not well described.

Aims:

To examine associations between COPD and four measures of HRQOL in a population-based sample.

Patients & Methods:

These relationships were examined using data from 13,887 adults aged >18 years who participated in the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) conducted in North Carolina (NC). Logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted relative odds (aOR).

Results:

The age-adjusted prevalence of COPD among NC adults was 5.4% (standard error 0.27). Nearly half of adults …

Gender-Specific Profiles Of Tobacco Use Among Non-Institutionalized People With Serious Mental Illness, Joy L. Johnson, Pamela A. Ratner, Leslie A. Malchy, Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli, Ric M. Procyshyn, Joan L. Bottorff, Marlee Groening, Annette Schultz, Marg Osborne

Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

Background: In many countries, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death. In North America, reductions in population smoking levels are stabilising and, in recent years, those involved in tobacco control programming have turned their attention to particular segments of society that are at greatest risk for tobacco use. One such group is people with mental illness. A picture of tobacco use patterns among those with mental illness is beginning to emerge; however, there are several unanswered questions. In particular, most studies have been limited to particular in-patient groups. In addition, while it is recognised that men and women differ …

Intensive Treatment Of Tobacco Dependence In An Out - Patient Addictions Services Setting, Milan Khara, Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

BACKGROUND

• Drug treatment populations are disproportionately affected by morbidity and mortality attributable to tobacco use. However, with appropriately intensive intervention, individuals in drug treatment settings can succeed in their efforts towards smoking cessation.

• The Tobacco Dependence Clinic (TDC) is a program that provides smoking cessation counseling and up to 26 weeks of free pharmacotherapy for clients through Vancouver Coastal Health Addiction Services, British Columbia, Canada.

• The purpose of this study is to provide evaluation data (in terms of program completion and smoking cessation outcomes) from the TDC.

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease In North Carolina, David W. Brown, Roy Pleasants, Jill A. Ohar, Monica Kraft, James F. Donohue, David M. Mannino, Winston Liao, Harry Herric

David M. Mannino

Background:

Comparisons of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and adults in the general population are not well described.

Aims:

To examine associations between COPD and four measures of HRQOL in a population-based sample.

Patients & Methods:

These relationships were examined using data from 13,887 adults aged >18 years who participated in the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) conducted in North Carolina (NC). Logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted relative odds (aOR).

Results:

The age-adjusted prevalence of COPD among NC adults was 5.4% (standard error 0.27). Nearly half of adults …

Varenicline – A New Pharmacotherapy For Smoking Cessation In Primary Care Practice, Noorzurani Robson Associate Prof. Dr.

Associate Prof. Dr. Noorzurani Robson

Background: Cigarette smoking causes significant morbidity and mortality and is a major public health concern worldwide. Primary care doctors are in a unique position that enables them to promote smoking cessation, as smokers are more aware of their health at the time of their clinic visit. It is thus important to offer effective treatment to help smokers stop smoking. Methods: A search of PubMed was done up to 16 December 2009, using the keywords “varenicline” alone, “varenicline” and “family medicine”, and “varenicline” and “primary care”. The search produced 426 articles on varenicline. The articles that were chosen were case reports, …

Nicotine-Replacement Therapy: A Proven Treatment For Smoking Cessation: Cpd, Noorzurani Robson Associate Prof. Dr.

Associate Prof. Dr. Noorzurani Robson

Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer. Despite the high prevalence of smokers worldwide, smokers are often neglected and not offered effective assistance with quitting their habits. In order to overcome this public health burden, effective treatment is needed to help smokers stop smoking. Among the pharmacological treatments available, nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT), when prescribed in combination with behavioural support, has been proven to be effective in helping a wide range of smokers to quit. NRT helps smokers during the withdrawal process by replacing a proportion of the nicotine formerly obtained from cigarettes. NRT is available …

Intensive Tobacco Dependence Treatment For Clients With Substance Use Disorder And/Or Mental Illness, Milan Khara, Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

BACKGROUND •Drug treatment populations are disproportionately affected by morbidity and mortality due to tobacco use. However, with appropriately intensive intervention, individuals in drug treatment settings can succeed in their efforts towards smoking cessation. •The Tobacco Dependence Clinic (TDC) is a program that provides smoking cessation counseling and up to 26 weeks of free pharmacotherapy for clients through Vancouver Coastal Health Addiction Services , British Columbia, Canada. There are currently three clinic sites: Pacific Spirit, Three Bridges, and Downtown Community Health Centre (DCHC). •The purpose of this study is to provide 2-year pilot evaluation data (in terms of program completion and …