Nicotine Dependence and the Level of Motivation for Ceasing Smoking in the Case of Patients Undergoing Vascular Surgeries Versus the Optimisation of Perioperative Care-Pilot Survey

Renata Piotrkowska; Wioletta Mędrzycka-Dąbrowska; Piotr Jarzynkowski; Robert Ślusarz

doi:10.3390/ijerph191610393

Nicotine Dependence and the Level of Motivation for Ceasing Smoking in the Case of Patients Undergoing Vascular Surgeries Versus the Optimisation of Perioperative Care-Pilot Survey

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 20;19(16):10393. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610393.

Authors

Renata Piotrkowska^{1

2}, Wioletta Mędrzycka-Dąbrowska³, Piotr Jarzynkowski¹, Robert Ślusarz⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgical Nursing, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 7, 80-211 Gdańsk, Poland.
² Clinic of Cardiac and Vascular Surgery, University Clinical Centre, Dębinki 7, 80-952 Gdańsk, Poland.
³ Department of Anaesthesiology Nursing and Intensive Care, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 7, 80-211 Gdańsk, Poland.
⁴ Neurological and Neurosurgical Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Science, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Łukasiewicza 1, 85-821 Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: Smoking is one of key risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, including abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and carotid artery disease (CAD). Despite attempts being made to make the society aware of the consequences of passive and active smoking, as well as worldwide and nationwide epidemiologic research reflecting the scale of the problem, there are still a lot of smokers.

Aim: The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between the degree of addiction and the level of motivation for ceasing smoking in the case of patients before vascular surgery. Furthermore, to point out factors that have a significant impact on the level of nicotine dependence and motivation for ceasing smoking.

Methods: The survey included patients qualified for vascular surgeries. The patients were active smokers: 69.3% men and 30.7% women. The survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire based on standard research tools: the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), the Test of Motivation for Ceasing Smoking by Nina Schneider, and the original questionnaire aimed at collecting social and demographic data.

Results: Most patients showed a high or moderate degree of nicotine dependence: 46.5% and 40.6%, respectively. An average nicotine dependence ratio based on the Fagerström test was 6.23 ± 2.39. An average motivation for the ceasing smoking ratio was 4.88 ± 2.76. Only 34.7% of the patients had a high motivation for ceasing smoking. Over half of the patients (61.4%) attempted to cease smoking in the past.

Conclusions: Most patients undergoing vascular surgeries showed a high or moderate degree of nicotine dependence and low motivation to quit smoking. The greater the addiction to nicotine, the lower the motivation to quit smoking. Social and demographic factors do not affect the degree of nicotine addiction and the motivation to quit smoking. Years of smoking had an impact on the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Keywords: nicotine; perioperative care; smoking; vascular surgeries.

MeSH terms

Female
Humans
Male
Motivation
Perioperative Care
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*
Smoking / adverse effects
Smoking / epidemiology
Smoking Cessation*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tobacco Use Disorder* / epidemiology
Vascular Surgical Procedures

Grants and funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.