PeripheralArterial

Disease

Patients’ awareness of smoking as a risk factor

Class 5, 1st year2009/2010

Adviser: Sérgio Sampaio

McDermott MM. Cleve Clin J Med. 2006.Remes L, et al. 2008.Gutacker N, et al. 2009.Zanati SG, et al. Clinics. 2009.

INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND

Narrowing and hardening of arteries

Decreased blood flow

PAD

Difficulty in walking, rest pain, ulceration, lower extremity amputation,

death.

Risk Factors

Hypertension Hypercholesterolemia

Diabetes Smoking

Selvin E. et al. Circulation. 2004.

Criqui MH. Vasc Med. 2001.

Awareness of smoking as a risk factor

Don't know44%

Know56%

Hirsch AT et al. Circulation. 2007.

Justification

We decided to evaluate the awareness of smoking as a risk factor because:

People, most of the times, cannot control the expression of diabetes, but it is their choice to smoke or not to;

There is a low community consciousness of this risk factor.

Research Question

How aware are patients with PAD regarding smoking as a major risk factor?

Aims

1. Quantify how frequently patients with PAD know about smoking as a cause and a prognostic of their condition.

2. Determine when and by whom were they warned about this fact.

3. Find out whether people in this state have changed or not their smoking habits due to the provided information.

• (If they have) Find out if the severity of the disease altered.

Participants and Methods

Our target population are Portuguese patients suffering from PAD who are admitted in a hospital.

Our inclusion criterion is the patients with PAD being admitted in the Vascular Surgery Department of Hospital de S. João.

Our exclusion criteria are:

Patients unable to consciously communicate;

Patients who do not agree to get involved in this study.

Participants and Methods

Study design

Analytic retrospective cohort:patients who were informed of tobacco as a risk factor

with patients who were not (cohort)events that happened in the past (retrospective):try to establish the relations among them (analytic)

Present

Past FutureInformed Not Informed

Data collecting methods

Structured interviews will be done to patients suffering from PAD, who are admitted in the Vascular Surgery Department of Hospital de São João.

Variables description

Personal data of PAD patientsDiabetes;Hypertension;Hypercholesterolemia;State of the disease at the time of the

diagnosis, according to Lerishe-Fontaine classification;

Current state of the disease;Date of PAD diagnosis;Smoking habits;

Variables description

PAD risk factors awarenessAwareness of:

Diabetes;Hypercholesterolemia;Hypertension;Smoking;

Knowledge sources;• If the information was given by a doctor, another variable we

decided to put was the specialty of the doctor .

Time of risk factors awareness.

Variables description

Behaviour changes after awareness of PAD risk factors:

Change of smoking habits;Way of change;Number of attempts, if the interviewed patient

tried to quit smoking without success.

Variables description

Statistical analysis/Expected results

Scholar degree and the awareness of the risk factors;

Time of risk factors awareness and date of PAD

diagnostic;

Change of smoking habits (type of change) and state

of the disease after that behaviour change (evolution

of the disease).

Expected difficulties

Lack of PAD patients to answer the questionnaire.

The possibility of a very low rate of answers.

The possibility of low patient’s memory.

The statistitical analysis itself.