Factors associated with tobacco use in patients with asthma during the confinement due to COVID-19 in an urban region with high numbers of SARS-CoV-2 infections

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with tobacco use during the period of confinement in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Through an analytical and cross-sectional study, the data of 2, 372 participants were analyzed. The information was collected through a self-administered questionnaire that was built with the Google Forms tool, which was distributed and applied via email and WhatsApp; the private messaging platform. The relationship between the independent variables and the outcome was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Out of the total population, 69.3 % were women, the median age was 20.11±2.01 years, the prevalence of asthma was 12.2 %, and the active tobacco use was 13.3 %. There was a higher number of patients with asthma who smoked (14.2 vs. 13.2 %) than of those who didn't have asthma. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that factors like considering that COVID-19 does not exist and not being confined were related to tobacco use in patients with asthma during the implementation of the contingency plan that the COVID-19 pandemic represents. Conclusions: During confinement to home for COVID-19, the prevalence of tobacco use is higher in patients with asthma than in individuals without this ailment; the factors that favor the aforementioned are present in the family environment.