Telling smokers their “lung age” promoted successful smoking cessation
G Parkes
Dr G Parkes, The Limes Surgery, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, UK; parkesko@hotmail.co.uk
QUESTION
Does describing to patients how smoking has accelerated their age-related decline in lung function (“lung age”) increase smoking cessation rates?
METHODS
Design:
randomised controlled trial.
Allocation:
concealed.
Blinding:
blinded (outcome assessors).
Follow-up period:
12 months.
Setting:
5 general practices in Hertfordshire, UK.
Patients:
561 current smokers ⩾35 years of age (mean age 53 y, 54% women, mean 17 cigarettes/d, mean 33 pack-y of smoking). Patients receiving oxygen or with a history of lung cancer, tuberculosis, asbestosis, silicosis, bronchiectasis, or pneumonectomy were excluded.
Intervention:
all patients had spirometry at baseline to measure forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1). Patients in the intervention group (n = 280) were immediately given their results verbally and graphically as “lung age” (the age …
