17A110

Impact of smoking cessation advise on Rheumatoid arthritis

Author(s)

Shama Khan, Ahmad Butt, Emmet Brennan, Roisin Mcmanus, Aine Gorman, Angela Camon, Ausaf Mohammad, Killian O'Rourke

Department(s)/Institutions

Rheumatology Department, Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore

Introduction

Smoking is associated with an increased risk of comorbidities in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and may reduce the efficacy of anti-rheumatic therapies. Smoking cessation is therefore critically important in RA management and may lead to a reduced comorbid burden

Aims/Background

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether smoking cessation rates are increased following a smoking cessation advice for people with RA. preprocess

Method

We conducted a prospective study of 800 RA patients fulfilling the 1987 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria, from October 2016 to March 2017, attending our rheumatology services. Ethics approval was obtained. Information on demographics and cigarette smoking status was collected through patients’ interviews and medical notes review. Current smokers were given advice on quitting smoking through face-to-face advice, handout, and nicotine replacement. Subjects were re-interviewed at 6-months to ascertain smoking status. The primary outcome was smoking cessation at 6 months.

Results

180 current smokers among the 800 patients with RA were included: mean age 56± 11.9 years and 76% were females. Overall, 64% of subjects stopped smoking at 6 months, and remainder RA smokers were thinking about quitting. More female subjects quit smoking as compared to males (74% vs. 26%). Those who quit smoking were younger (49 years vs. 57 years), had higher BMI (28.7 ± 3.6 vs. 26.7 ± 3.6), and had aggressive disease, DAS28-CRP (4.9 ± 0.9 vs. 2.9 ± 0.9) (P < .05). Subjects who stopped smoking stated “healthy life style” as motivation to quit.

Conclusions

In our study significant proportion of RA patients stopped smoking when given advice on quitting. Smoking cessation advice was very beneficial in motivating them to quit smoking. There should be a structured plan in place to educate RA patients on smoking cessation, both in verbal and written form.