Racial and Income Disparities in Health-Related Quality of Life among Smokers with a Quit Attempt in Louisiana

February 13, 2019 – New Orleans, LA

In the recent study, “Racial and Income Disparities in Health-Related Quality of Life among Smokers with a Quit Attempt in Louisiana,” published in Medicina 2019, smoking was found to be associated with a lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, there is little information about the association between HRQOL in relation to race, income, and smoking status. The present study aimed to assess the association between HRQOL and smoking status for those of different races and income levels.

Authorship and contribution to this research and publication  from the LSU Health Sciences Center School of Public Health includes current Fellow Yu-Hsiang Kao,  Dr. Tung-Sung Tseng, Mr. Michael D. Celestin, Jr. , Dr. Sarah Moody-Thomas from Behavioral & Community Health. Also, contributing to this research is Mrs. Krysten Jones-Winn from the Tobacco Control Initiative Program and  Dr. Qingzhao Yu from Biostatics.

This study’s conclusions state that racial and income disparities were evident with regards to HRQOL, with lower-income black or African Americans who were current smokers with a quit attempt having a lower HRQOL. Intervention programs for smoking cessation should target lower-income black or African American smokers who have a prior quit attempt and provide effective cessation services to help them quit smoking and improve their HRQOL.

The full publication can be read here.