Evaluate College Students’ Knowledge, Towards Smoking Effect on Diabetes Consequences

Abstract

Smoking is a modifiable risk factor for many other diseases, this study aimed to evaluate student’s awareness in relation to smoking consequences on diabetes. This is a cross-sectional study involved students who attended al-Safwa university college in Karbala, Iraq. Data were collected within one month (February 2018). The collected data were analysed using the SPSS (version 18.0) software package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Pearson chi-square test were used to find the association between participants smoking status and their knowledge to its consequences on their health. Seventy-five participants enrolled in the study, their mean age was (22±2.2 years); and their BMI was (24±3.8 kg/m²). Around 50% of them were smokers; they smoked around 12±16.5 cigarette/day. more than two thirds of the participants were males (69.3%). Participants were either students in the pharmacy department or dentistry department of the college. More than two thirds of them didn’t know whether smoking had bad impact on diabetic people or no. However, almost an equal proportion of them believe that smoking can worsen heart disease (range 69%-78% of participants). On the other hand, Pearson chi-square shows a non-significant association (p>0.05) between participant smoking status and their knowledge to its consequences on their health. Knowledge regarding smoking bad effect can increase quitting rates; nerveless if it was combined with counseling it would have double effect. This was one of few studies that investigate college student’s knowledge in Iraq, it lightens the way for future researches to be done.