Abstract
Background: Tobacco smoking is more prevalent among the elderly than among the young, and the elderly also have the most frequent contact with the health care system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Gold Standard Program, which is an intensive six-week smoking cessation program, on continuous self-reported abstinence rates after six months, on participants over the age of 60 years in a real life setting. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study from the national Danish smoking cessation database. Results: The database registered 7369 participants over the age of 60 years (range 60–82) and 24,294 below 60 years (range 15–59). Continuous abstinence rate after six months was 37% for the elderly compared to 35% for the younger (p < 0.05). The significant variables for continuous abstinence were: living with another adult (OR 1.10), prior professional recommendation for smoking cessation (OR 1.12), being compliant with program (OR 1.35) and being abstinent at end of course (OR 13.3). Conclusions: Participants over the age of 60 years had significantly higher continuous abstinence rates after six months than the participants less than 60 years. It is never too late for health professionals to recommend and educate patients about smoking cessation programs even if they are over 60 years of age.
Highlights
Tobacco smoking is the biggest cause of illness and pre-mature death in the Western part of the world [1]
For the participants attending the Gold Standard Program (GSP) and who were older than 60 years of age a total of 37% were continuous abstinent six month after the intended quit date
We found as significant factors in the final adjusted model: whether the participant lived with another adult, if they had prior professional recommendation for smoking cessation, if they were compliant with the program and whether they were abstinent at the end of the program
Summary
Tobacco smoking is the biggest cause of illness and pre-mature death in the Western part of the world [1]. In Denmark the amount of daily smokers have diminished from 30% in 2000 to 17% in and approximately 1%–2% of Danish smokers successfully quit smoking each year [3]. A possible explanation for this could be that it was mainly the smokers who had the least tobacco consumption who succeeded in quitting smoking. Considering the age distribution, smoking seems most prevalent among 50–59 year-old Danes with 26% being daily smokers, whereas among citizens 60 years or older. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Gold Standard Program, which is an intensive six-week smoking cessation program, on continuous self-reported abstinence rates after six months, on participants over the age of 60 years in a real life setting. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study from the national Danish smoking cessation database
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