Back Worse For Smokers

Information collected on more than 25,000 patients revealed that smokers who visited physicians for back problems were more likely to report severe back problems and symptoms of depression as compared with nonsmokers. Based on information collected from the National Spine Network, researchers found that smokers and nonsmokers had spinal symptoms for a similar duration, but smokers reported more severe symptoms, which were present for a greater proportion of time each day. Researchers also noted smokers had lower physical and mental health status scores than did nonsmokers. Moreover, for those patients unfortunate enough to have undergone back surgery, nonsmokers had a more favorable outcome.