Abstract
BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) and smoking have been reported to be associated with the duration and severity of common cold symptoms. However, few studies have addressed the associations between the frequency of leisure-time exercise, cigarette smoking status and the frequency of the common cold in a cold area. This study was designed to investigate these issues in northeastern China.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included individuals who participated in a regular health examination conducted in Jilin Province, China. Information on episodes of the common cold, the frequency of leisure-time exercise and cigarette smoking status in the past year were collected by self-administered health questionnaires. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to analyse the associations between the frequency of leisure-time exercise, cigarette smoking status and the retrospective frequency of common cold.ResultsA total of 1413 employees participated in the study, with an average age of 38.92 ± 9.04 years and 44.4% of them were male. Of all participants, 80.8% reported having experienced the common cold in the past year. After adjustment, the risk of suffering from the common cold more than once (odds ratios (ORs), 1.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.27–1.99) in passive smokers was 1.59 times as high as that in non-smokers. Nevertheless, the results of the adjusted analysis showed no statistically significant relation between current smoking and the frequency of the common cold. A high frequency of leisure-time exercise (≥3 days/week) was associated with a 26% reduced risk of having at least one episode of the common cold (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.55–0.98) compared with a low frequency group (< 4 days/month). For current and passive smokers, the protective effect of a high frequency of leisure-time exercise appears not to be obvious (current smokers: OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.33–1.43; passive smokers: OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.69–1.93).ConclusionPassive smoking was associated with a higher risk of having self-reported common cold at least once, while a high frequency of leisure-time exercise was related to a lower risk of reporting more than one episode of the disease in Chinese.
Highlights
Physical activity (PA) and smoking have been reported to be associated with the duration and severity of common cold symptoms
We further explore the potential interaction between leisure-time exercise and cigarette smoking status on the common cold
80.8% reported catching a common cold in the past year, and 37.2%, 31.6% and 12.1% experienced the common cold during the previous year once, twice, and three or more times, respectively
Summary
Physical activity (PA) and smoking have been reported to be associated with the duration and severity of common cold symptoms. Effective prevention towards reduced clinical symptoms and duration of the common cold is still limited. The common cold has the potential to bring those suffering from respiratory diseases a certain degree of difficulty in controlling and relieving their clinical symptoms, such as worsening asthma [5, 6] and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [7, 8]. The common cold is an issue that accounts for a substantial economic burden [9] and influences normal daily activities, such as low work productivity and absenteeism due to sickness [10,11,12]
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