Abstract 2518: Epidemiology of tobacco use among a sample of Hispanic/Latino men attending an STI clinic.
Authors: Del Toro-Mejías Lizbeth M. , Díaz-Toro Elba C. , García Hermes , Reyes Kesyha , Nieves-Más Kathleen , Rivera Manuel E. , Colón-López Vivian 
Published: August 2014

Background: Tobacco products are a major cause of death and disease worldwide. Although a substantial decrease in tobacco use has been documented in Puerto Rico (PR), tobacco-related disparities among vulnerable and underserved populations still needs to be addressed. It has been demonstrated that behavioral risk practices, such as unprotected sex, multiple sex partners, alcohol and drug use, are associated with tobacco use.

Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of tobacco use and correlates associated with lifetime and current tobacco consumption in a sample of Hispanic/Latino men attending a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) clinic in San Juan, PR.

Methods: A cross-sectional study consisting of 206 men ≥ 16 years was conducted. Survey included demographic characteristics and behavioral assessment of high-risk practices such as tobacco, alcohol, and drug-related risks, as well as sexual practices and self-reported STIs. Frequency distributions and descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study sample. Bivariate analysis (chi-square test) was used to determine the relation between demographic, behavioral and clinical assessments with lifetime and current (last 12 months) tobacco use. Variables that achieved statistical significance in the bivariate analysis (p&lt;0.05) were assessed in age-adjusted logistic regression models.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 38.0 ± 14.2 years. The vast majority (73.5%) of the participants reported having smoked tobacco, in which more than half of them (65.8%) were current smokers. The mean amount of cigarettes consumed in the last 12 months was 7.5 ± 9.2. Bivariate analyses showed that lifetime and current drug use was associated with lifetime and current tobacco use (p&lt;0.05), and self-reported HIV status was marginally associated with current tobacco use (p=0.05). After age-adjusted logistic regression, lifetime drug users were up to 9 times more likely to have used tobacco in their lifetime as compared to non-drug users (OR=9.3; 95% CI=4.5-19.4). A significant association between current drug use and lifetime tobacco use was also observed in this sample (OR=16.7; 95% CI=4.8-57.9). On the other hand, men who reported ever used drugs, have more than a two-fold increase odds of current tobacco use as compared to non-drug users (OR=2.9; 95% CI=1.1-8.0).

Conclusions: Lifetime and current smoking prevalence is high among this population of men attending this STI clinic, particularly among drug users. Due to the strong addictive component of nicotine, it is important to develop tobacco cessation interventions as an essential part of regular STI clinics protocols. Thus, tobacco cessation programs could be effective in STI clinic settings in order to promote cancer prevention and control, and other health related behaviors.

Citation Format: Lizbeth M. Del Toro-Mejías, Elba C. Díaz-Toro, Hermes García, Kesyha Reyes, Kathleen Nieves-Más, Manuel E. Rivera, Vivian Colón-López. Epidemiology of tobacco use among a sample of Hispanic/Latino men attending an STI clinic. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2518. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2518