Prevalence of smoking among nurses and its association with blood pressure: A cross-sectional study in 11 cities of China

Abstract

Aim: Smoking is harmful to human health. However, the relationship between smoking and blood pressure (BP) has not been consistent. This study aimed to analyse nurses' smoking behaviours and their relationship with BP.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 128 009 nurses in 11 cities in China. They were surveyed with questionnaires including BP measurements. The main contents of the questionnaire included smoking status and other factors that might be associated with hypertension. Multiple linear regression analyses and binary logistic regression analyses were used to analyse the data.

Results: The results showed there was a significant difference in the smoking rate among nurses with different characteristics (P < 0.05). For both male and female nurses, smoking was associated with increased diastolic BP and mean arterial pressure, but only with increased systolic BP of male nurses. The prevalence of hypertension among male and female nurses was not related to smoking.

Conclusion: Despite a relatively low overall smoking rate, rates among some groups are high. Different cities, hospitals, and departments can combine local data and conditions to formulate targeted tobacco control measures to improve nurses' physical and mental health.

Keywords: blood pressure; hypertension; nurses; smoking.