Risk of injury among smokers was higher despite the fact that recruits were forbidden from smoking during the training period, according to the researchers. Gardner and colleagues examined smoking and injury rates among 915 female and 1,087 male Army recruits. The researchers reported their findings in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Risk of injury increased for both women and men who smoked. Fifty-six percent of female smokers suffered an injury compared with 46 percent of women who did not smoke.
Some studies suggest that smoking can impair healing of wounds from trauma, surgery, and disease.
It is plausible that smoking interferes with the body1s ability to repair muscle, bone, and other tissue, leaving smokers more susceptible to injury, the researchers say. Differences in behavior between smokers and nonsmokers may also explain some of the differences in injury rates. Smokers in the current study had more previous injuries and illness, were less physically active, and were less physically fit than nonsmokers, the researchers say. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, sponsored by the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine and the American College of Preventive Medicine, is published eight times a year by Elsevier Science. The Journal is a forum for the communication of information, knowledge, and wisdom in prevention science, education, practice, and policy.