Abstract
Objectives
Do smokers have more upper airway symptoms than non-smokers? Despite extensive knowledge about the health-damaging effects of smoking, little is known about whether and to what extent smoking causes complaints from the upper airway. The main objectives of our study: 1) evaluate the role of cigarette smoking in relation to upper airway symptoms, and 2) study the dose response relationship between daily cigarette consumption and upper airway symptoms.
Methods
2294 consecutive patients referred to ENT specialist for evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea, snoring or nose-related complaints were included in this cross-sectional study. Subjects completed a detailed questionnaire including Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), grading 13 upper airway symptoms. In addition, smoking habits were registered. Associations between VAS recordings and smoking status were evaluated by multivariate analysis based on regression analysis and Anova, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, asthma, and allergy. Differences of 10% or more were considered clinically relevant. The study was conducted in the period 2005–2007.
Results
Smokers had between 12 and 27% higher VAS scores in 8 out of 13 symptoms compared with non-smokers (p<0,001). Further, VAS scores were related to the daily cigarette consumption in a dose-dependent manner within the majority of the symptom categories.
Conclusions
Our study indicates that cigarette smoking is an important etiologic factor for upper airway symptoms. The results give support to campaigns against smoking even in an upper airway perspective. Cessation of smoking should be considered, accepted, and used as a therapeutic measure when dealing with smokers presenting with upper airway complaints.
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