The impact of smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity on use of hospital services

N. Haapanen-Niemi, S. Miilunpalo, I. Vuori, M. Pasanen and P. Oja

American Journal of Public Health, 1999, vol. 89, issue 5, 691-698

Abstract: Objectives. This study investigated the associations of smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity with the use of hospital care. Methods. A cohort of 19- to 63- year-old Finnish men (n = 2534) and women (n = 2668) were followed prospectively for 16 years. Number of hospital days was extracted from the national hospital discharge registry, while data concerning exposure variables were derived from the baseline questionnaire. Results. After adjustment for confounders, male smokers had 70% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 49%, 95%) and female smokers had 49% (95% CI = 29%, 71%) more hospital days due to any cause than did those who had never smoked. Men consuming a moderate amount of alcohol had 21% (95% CI = 10%, 31%) fewer hospital days due to any cause than did nondrinkers. Men who had the lowest energy expenditure during leisure-time physical activity had 36% (95% CI = 15%, 63%) more hospital days than the most active men. The figure for women was 23% (95% CI = 4%, 44%). Conclusions. Smoking was strongly associated with an increased use of hospital services. The associations of alcohol consumption and leisure-time physical activity with use of hospital care depended on the diagnosis under study.

Date: 1999
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1999:89:5:691-698_4

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().