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Uta A Vorbach, MPH, UMDNJ-School of Public Health, 304 South Second Ave, Apt 202, Highland Park, NJ 08904, (732) 418-1980, uvorbach@hotmail.com, Diane Abatemarco, PhD, MSW, UMDNJ - School of Public Health, 683 Hoes Lane West, #311, Piscataway, NJ 08854, and Dorota Staniewska, MA, School of Public Health, UMDNJ, 335 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
The Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS), employed between September and December 2001, is a random sample of tobacco knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, health status and use. The ATS data was used to explore the relationship between individuals and their perception of their own mental and physical health. Individuals in this study were categorized as “never”, “former” or “current” smokers and were analyzed for their answers to a section of health related questions found in the survey. In this sample, smokers were more likely to rate their mental health poorly. Women, regardless of smoking status, were twice as likely to rate their mental health poorly. Smokers were more likely to rate their physical health poorly. The association between smoking and perception of poor health was not evenly distributed across all categories, differences in age and race were found. In this sample smokers generally rated their own physical and mental health poorer than non-smokers and former smokers. Women, regardless of smoking status, rated their mental health more poorly than men. These results offer insight into how smokers, former smokers and non-smokers perceive their health. Addressing mental and physical health perception with smokers may be useful in a cessation setting. Many current smokers responded to experiencing eight or more days of poor mental health prior to the day they responded to the survey. These results support other studies that show a relationship between poor mental health and tobacco use.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Tobacco, Mental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: UMDNJ-School of Public Health
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.