Smoking and its association with disability in chronic conditions: results from the Canadian Community and Health Survey 2.1.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between smoking, chronic conditions, and short-term disability in a representative community sample. The analysis was based on data from 115,548 respondents from the Canadian Community and Health Survey (CCHS-2.1), a nationally representative survey. Smoking status, chronic conditions, and short-term disability were assessed by self-report. The population prevalence of current smoking was 23.5%. More than half of the subjects (51.9%) reported at least one chronic condition. Although a large number of subjects with chronic conditions had stopped smoking (33.7%), a high prevalence of current smoking remained (22.9%) among subjects with chronic conditions. Disability was markedly elevated in smokers with chronic medical conditions. Subjects with chronic conditions who smoked were more likely to report disability days than subjects with chronic conditions who never smoked (27.2% and 20.5%, respectively). Our results suggest that smoking is associated with short-term disability in subjects with chronic health problems.