Evaluation of Smoking Status among Diabetes Patients in the State of Penang, Malaysia

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of smoking among diabetes patients attending Diabetes Outpatient Clinic at Penang General Hospital, Penang, Malaysia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the smoking status of all the patients that registered at the above clinic. The data were extracted from the diabetes patients’ medical records. Between June 1^st 2010 and June 30^th 2011, all medical records of type 1 and 2 diabetes patients were reviewed to assess the prevalence of smoking.
Results: Of 2547 diabetes patients, 447 patients were excluded from the analysis as their smoking status was unknown, leaving 2100 diabetes patients whose smoking status was determined. The prevalence of smoking in diabetes patients was estimated at 8 %. Smokers had shorter duration of diabetes mellitus than non-smokers (6.70 ± 5.16 vs. 8.42 ± 6.66; respectively, p = 0.001). Smoking was significantly associated with male gender and younger age (p < 0.0001). Chinese diabetes patients were the most prevalent race among smokers, compared with Malay and Indian (50.3, 30.5 and 19.2 %, respectively); however, the differences were statistically not significant , p = 0.219).
Conclusion: The prevalence of smoking among diabetes patients of the Malaysian clinic at Penang studied was low. On the other hand, smoking status was inadequately documented and no information was available on the history of tobacco use in diabetes smokers.