The prognostic effect of cigarette smoking on stroke severity, disability, length of stay in hospital, and mortality in a cohort with cerebrovascular disease

Objective — The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic influence of cigarette smoking on stroke severity, disability, length of stay (LOS) in hospital, and mortality in different stroke types.

Methods — A cohort separated by smoking status from the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network was analyzed using logistic regression while controlling for key outcomes and clinical and demographic characteristics.

Results — There were 20,523 patients that were included for this study from July 2003 to March 2008. Multivariable analyses revealed that, in general, long-time smoking had a negative effect on functional outcome at discharge, mortality at 1 year, and LOS in hospital. In general, former smoking had a positive impact in reducing the risk of severe stroke, mortality risk at 30 days, and the LOS in hospital. Significant differences in clinical and demographics were found between smokers, nonsmokers, and former smokers with cerebrovascular disease. On average, smokers had an earlier initial stroke presentation of cerebrovascular disease.

Conclusions — Results provide empirical evidence regarding the prognostic influence of cigarette smoking on stroke severity, disability, and LOS in hospital and mortality, but the magnitude of the effect varied by stroke type.