Living with a Smoker and Physical Inactivity across Eight Years in High-Risk Medical Patients

Abstract

Recent research has demonstrated a link between living with a smoker and physical inactivity. However, no research has examined this issue in the context of recovery in medical patients. The present study broadens research on living with a smoker by applying it to physical inactivity in a group of high-risk medical patients with histories of cancer or cardiovascular disease compared to a control group without histories of these conditions. In addition, this study extends the time frame of research on living with a smoker in predicting physical inactivity to eight years. Participants were 76,758 women between 49 and 81 years of age from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. Data on living with a smoker were collected at baseline; data on physical activity were collected at baseline and annually from 3 to 8 years. Analyses utilized latent growth modeling. Patient status, compared to control status, was associated with more physical inactivity at baseline. Independent of patient status, living with a smoker predicted a significant increase in the odds of no moderate or strenuous exercise and a significant increase in the odds of no walking at baseline. The effect of living with a smoker on physical inactivity was stronger than that of patient status. Moreover, the living with a smoker effect on physical inactivity remained stable across eight years. These findings highlight an overlooked impediment to compliance with recommendations for lifestyle change among high-risk medical patients.

Keywords:

• cancer
• cardiovascular disease
• living with a smoker
• physical activity
• secondhand smoke

Acknowledgments

This manuscript was prepared using WHI Observational Study Research Materials obtained from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the WHI Observational Study, the NHLBI, or the National Institutes of Health.⁵²

Notes

1 Among participants with a history of cancer, 42.4% and 42.3% of participants engaged in no exercise and no walking, respectively, at baseline; among participants with a history of cardiovascular disease, 45.2% and 48.1% of participants engaged in no exercise and no walking, respectively, at baseline.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R03CA215947).