PROTECT-2 Study: Association Between the Prevalence of Medical Conditions in Students of the North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov and Smoking Status

BACKGROUND: Products containing tobacco and nicotine are harmful to the human body. A previous PROTECT study revealed an unfavorable trend toward combined use of traditional and electronic cigarettes. The study also revealed that respondents are not aware enough of the negative effects of new nicotine products.

AIM: The study aimed to evaluate the association between smoking status and prevalence and patterns of tobacco and nicotine product consumption and morbidity rates in medical university students.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study of a continuous population of first-year students of the medical department of the North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov was conducted. An online questionnaire was used to collect data on smoking status, and outpatient records and the results of annual physical examinations from the university clinic were evaluated.

RESULTS: The analysis included 466 first-year students, 26.0% of whom were male. The response rate was 91%. The mean age was 19.1 ± 2.5 years. Over two-thirds of respondents (79.6%) had never used traditional or electronic cigarettes. Prevalence of cigarette smoking was 2.4%. The use of any nicotine product was reported by 5.2% of respondents. The combined use of traditional and electronic cigarettes was found to be 12.9%. The study found no differences in smoking status by sex. Outpatient records showed that 10.1% of students had hypercholesterolemia, 2.4% had hyperglycemia, and 6.2% were overweight or obese. Atopic diseases, such as hay fever, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and allergic dermatitis, were found in 3.2% of respondents. Upper and lower respiratory disorders, such as chronic sinusitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, and asthma, were diagnosed in 6.4% of students. Acute respiratory viral infections more than three times per year were reported by 1.9% of first-year students. Cardiovascular disease was found in 6.9% of the respondents. The most common conditions included spinal diseases (15.5%), visual impairments (37.8%), gastrointestinal diseases (9%), and neurological diseases (4.3%). The prevalence of diseases affecting nearly all body systems ranges from 0.2% to 2.8%. The study found no difference in the prevalence of these diseases according to smoking status.

CONCLUSION: Respondents who smoked preferred the combined use of traditional and electronic cigarettes. Annual physical examinations of first-year students reveal that some have risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases. The trend of increased combined smoking in the presence of risk factors and medical conditions shows that smoking products are increasingly harmful to the health of young people, so further research is required.