Smoking as a Determinant of Health Status Among Patients in Acute Care Settings

The aim of our research was to monitor smoking habits at patients requesting medical assistance of an emergency department and to identify any connections with the health status of patients during the year 2018, in Romania. The survey included 431 patients who came to the hospital, out of which 49.88% were women and 50.12% were men. Their ages varied between 18 and 93 years, women’s mean age was of 66.46 years and standard deviation (SD) of ±12.157, and of 62.10 years and SD of ±14.164 in the case of men, respectively. Our working method was the cross-sectional population study. The study revealed that 14.6% of the patients smoke less than 20 cigarettes per day, while 17.4% smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day. A higher number of smoked cigarettes can be found in the case of men, with an impact of 17.4%, as well as in the case of younger people. There is a significant association between the diagnosis of acute psychiatric pathology and tobacco consumption, as this diagnosis occurs 3.57 times more frequently in the case of people who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day, compared with non-smokers. Tobacco consumption is a risk factor for the ingravescence of digestive pathology, as digestive pathology occurs 2.3 times more frequent at people who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day, compared with non-smokers.