AUTHOR=Chagué Frédéric , Boulin Mathieu , Eicher Jean-Christophe , Bichat Florence , Saint-Jalmes Maïlis , Cransac Amélie , Soudry Agnès , Danchin Nicolas , Laurent Gabriel , Cottin Yves , Zeller Marianne 

TITLE=Smoking in Patients With Chronic Cardiovascular Disease During COVID-19 Lockdown

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.845439

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2022.845439

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=Objectives
This cross-sectional study aims to investigate health-related behaviours including tobacco consumption among patients with cardiovascular (CV) diseases, during the first COVID-19-related lockdown.  
Methods
After 5 weeks of COVID-19 lockdown, 220 patients with chronic coronary syndromes (CCS] and 124 with congestive heart failure (CHF) answered a phone questionnaire.
Results
Among these 344 patients, 43 (12.5%) were current smokers, and none had quit during the lockdown. When compared with non-smokers, smokers were 15 years younger, more often diabetic, more likely to live in an urban than a rural lockdown location, and more often in the CCS cohort (p=0.011). Smokers described greater psychological impairment, but their rates of decrease in physical activity and of increase in screen time were similar to non-smokers.  
More than one third (13/43) increased their tobacco consumption, which was mainly related to stress or boredom, but not driven by media messages on a protective effect of nicotine. 
Conclusions
Given the major impact of persistent smoking in patients with cardiovascular disease, these findings suggest that lockdown periods may result in poorer prognoses, highlighting the need for targeted prevention strategies.