Smoking and its associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia treated in primary care in China

Objective: Maintenance treatment for clinically stable patients with schizophrenia is usually provided by Chinese primary care physicians, but no study has investigated smoking rates in this population. This study investigated the rate of smoking and its associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and quality of life (QOL) in patients with schizophrenia treated in primary care in China. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, community-based survey. A total of 621 schizophrenia patients were recruited from 22 primary care services in Guangzhou, China, in 2013. Patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, smoking status, and QOL were recorded. Results: The frequency of current smoking was 23.8% in the whole sample; 41.5% for men and 2.5% for women. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender, married status, alcohol use, older age at onset, fewer major medical conditions, lower education level and more hospitalizations were independently associated with current smoking. Conclusion: The frequency of smoking in Chinese schizophrenia patients treated by primary care physicians is lower than most figures reported from Western and Chinese psychiatric settings.