Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2020; 26(29): 4343-4355
Published online Aug 7, 2020. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i29.4343
Table 1 Baseline characteristics reported by the participants (n = 1050)
Questionnaire itemsmean ± SD; median (IQR) or n(%)
Demographic characteristics
Age (n = 796)41.9 ± 12.4; 40.0 (32.0–51.0)
Gender
Female522/798 (65.4)
Male276/798 (34.6)
Language
Italian213 (20.3)
Finnish146 (13.9)
Portuguese146 (13.9)
Slovenian128 (12.2)
Spanish120 (11.4)
Greek102 (9.7)
English83 (7.9)
German57 (5.4)
French55 (5.3)
IBD characteristics and treatments
Diagnosis
Crohn’s disease427/798 (53.5)
Ulcerative colitis355/798 (44.5)
No gastrointestinal condition5/798 (0.6)
Other gastrointestinal condition11/798 (1.4)
Crohn’s disease duration (yr)13.6 ± 10.6; 11 (5–20)
Ulcerative colitis duration (yr)7.52 ± 9.12; 4 (1–8)
Self-perceived disease activity
Inactive155/770 (20.1)
Mildly active261/770 (33.9)
Moderately active251/770 (32.6)
Severely active76/770 (9.9)
Not sure27/770 (3.5)
Self-perceived disease severity since diagnosis
Mild173/768 (22.5)
Moderate360/768 (46.9)
Severe201/768 (26.2)
Not sure34/768 (4.4)
Intestinal surgery230/798 (28.8)
Type of surgery
Partial colectomy41/798 (5.1)
Full colectomy29/798 (3.6)
Small-bowel resection48/798 (6.0)
Ileocaecal resection94/798 (11.8)
Other79/798 (9.9)
Current IBD-related medications
Antibiotics41/798 (5.1)
Oral aminosalicylate318/798 (39.8)
Topical aminosalicylate91/798 (11.4)
Topical steroid47/798 (5.9)
Systemic steroid78/798 (9.8)
Budesonide28/798 (3.5)
Immunomodulator213/798 (26.7)
Anti-TNF225/798 (28.2)
Combination of anti-TNF and immunomodulator69/798 (8.6)
Anti-integrin51/798 (6.4)
Tofacitinib6/798 (0.8)
Ustekinumab28/798 (3.5)
None76/798 (9.5)
Other135/798 (16.9)
Duration of current medical therapy (yr)
< 1240/765 (31.4)
1-5262/765 (34.2)
> 5263/765 (34.4)
Concomitant non-IBD drug treatment
Yes282/767 (63.2)
No485/767 (36.8)
Table 2 Smoking habits and use of alternative smoking products based on type of diagnosis
Questionnaire itemsCrohn’s diseaseUlcerative colitisP value1
Smoking habits and use of an alternative smoking product
Current cigarettes smoker
Yes268/425 (63.1)187/346 (54.1)0.012
No157/425 (36.9)159/346 (45.9)
Duration of cigarette smoking (yr)
< 122/410 (5.4)26/317 (8.2)0.13
1-546/410 (11.2)47/317 (14.8)
6-1069/410 (16.8)56/317 (17.7)
> 10273/410 (66.6)188/317 (59.3)
Extent of cigarette smoking (cigarettes per day)
< 112/425 (2.8)22/341 (6.5)< 0.001
1-551/425 (12.0)67/341 (19.6)
6-10120/425 (28.3)106/341 (31.1)
11-20179/425 (42.1)113/341 (33.1)
> 2063/425 (14.8)33/341 (9.7)
Current use of an alternative smoking product
Yes343/427 (80.3)282/355 (79.4)0.79
No84/427 (19.7)73/355 (20.6)
Type of smoking/nicotine product ever used
Cigarettes409/427 (95.8)330/355 (93.0)0.11
E-cigarettes84/427 (19.7)71/355 (20.0)0.93
Heat not burn tobacco product19/427 (4.5)25/355 (7.0)0.12
Nicotine gum37/427 (8.7)36/355 (10.1)0.54
Nicotine patches21/427 (4.9)23/355 (6.5)0.35
Chewing tobacco/snus/snuff10/427 (2.3)15/355 (4.2)0.16
Cigars44/427 (10.3)31/355 (8.7)0.47
Pipes13/427 (3.0)8/355 (2.3)0.66
Marijuana81/427 (19.0)56/355 (15.8)0.26
Any other combustion/smoking product11/427 (2.6)5/355 (1.4)0.31
None of the above2/427 (0.5)7/355 (2.0)0.09
Ever stopped cigarette smoking and restarted
Yes264/426 (62.0)253/346 (73.1)0.001
No162/426 (38.0)93/346 (26.9)
Ever user of an alternative smoking product
Yes215/427 (50.4)196/354 (55.4)0.17
No212/427 (49.6)158/354 (44.6)
Current use of an alternative smoking product
Yes84/427 (19.7)73/355 (20.6)0.79
No343/427 (80.3)282/355 (79.4)
Duration of use of alternative smoking products
< 144/76 (55.3)46/81 (56.7)0.33
1-523/76 (30.3)16/81 (19.8)
6-1010/76 (13.1)16/81 (19.8)
> 101/76 (1.3)3/81 (3.7)
Started cigarette smoking
Before IBD diagnosis392/426 (92.0)290/343 (84.6)0.001
After IBD diagnosis34/426 (8.0)53/343 (15.4)
Stopped cigarette smoking
Before IBD diagnosis85/250 (34.0)146/247 (59.1)< 0.001
After IBD diagnosis165/250 (66.0)101/247 (40.9)
Restarted cigarette smoking
Before IBD diagnosis89/260 (34.2)66/243 (27.2)0.10
After IBD diagnosis171/260 (65.8)177/243 (72.8)
Started using an alternative smoking product
Before IBD diagnosis85/210 (40.5)85/185 (46.0)0.31
After IBD diagnosis125/210 (59.5)100/185 (54.0)
Switched from cigarette smoking to using an alternative smoking product
Before IBD diagnosis77/207 (37.2)81/184 (44.0)0.18
After IBD diagnosis130/207 (62.8)103/184 (56.0)
Table 3 Perceived effect of smoking on inflammatory bowel diseases based on type of diagnosis
Questionnaire itemsCrohn’s diseaseUlcerative colitisP value1
Perceived impact of cigarette smoking on disease activity
Significantly worsened12/279 (4.3)2/191 (1.0)< 0.001
Moderately worsened209/279 (74.9)63/191 (33.0)
No impact27/279 (9.7)12/191 (6.3)
Moderately improved25/279 (9.0)58/191 (30.4)
Significantly improved6/279 (2.2)56/191 (29.3)
Perceived impact of using alternative smoking products on disease activity
Significantly worsened4/211 (1.9)12/187 (6.4)0.004
Moderately worsened31/211 (14.7)14/187 (7.5)
No impact146/211 (69.2)118/187 (63.1)
Moderately improved23/211 (10.9)28/187 (15.0)
Significantly improved7/211 (3.3)15/187 (8.0)
Table 4 Extent of discussing with own physician the effect of smoking on inflammatory bowel diseases based on type of diagnosis
Questionnaire itemsCrohn’s diseaseUlcerative colitisP value1
Cigarette smoking
Not discussed89/412 (21.6)143/321 (44.6)< 0.001
Detrimental286/412 (69.4)47/321 (14.6)
Possibly beneficial37/412 (9.0)131/321 (40.8)
Use of alternative smoking products
Not discussed43/83 (51.8)45/72 (62.5)< 0.001
Detrimental31/83 (37.4)8/72 (11.1)
Possibly beneficial9/83 (10.8)19/72 (26.4)