The Negative Impact of Tobacco Smoking on Health-Related Quality of Life among Saudi Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cigarette smoking and health-related quality of life among Saudi secondary vocational students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A convenience sample of 328 answered a web-based self-administered questionnaire based on the Youth Risky Behavior Monitoring System (YRBSS) plus the Short Form 12 (SF-12) were included in the study. The target population included all Saudi students enrolled at the Secondary Industrial Institute in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, during December 2020 and February 2021. Results: Out of the total of 328 male participants, representing a response rate of 38.59%, the highest percentage of respondents were in the first year (45.4%), the mean age of the participants was 17.73 years with a standard deviation (SD) of 1.85 years. The prevalence of current smokers, past smokers, and never smokers accounted for 30.2%, 21.3%, and 48.5%, respectively. First-year students reported relatively high levels of smoking prevalence and low physical scores of healthrelated quality of life (HRQoL). The overall mean of HRQoL of current smokers, past smokers, and never smokers accounted for 58.60, 58.38, and 63.66, respectively. In addition, current smokers reported a relatively low physical score of HRQoL 55.73. Conclusion: This is the first report to explore the impact of smoking on HRQoL of Secondary Industrial Institute students in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicate that smoking has a negative impact on the quality of life of vocational students. Therefore, a health strategies plan may be developed to improve the quality of life for vocational students in Saudi Arabia.

Tobacco Smoking and Health-Related Quality of Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Correspondence

“…A recent study showed that one who smoke has a chance to develop anxiety during COVID-19 lockdown (Tareke et al, 2022). Therefore, the mental health dimension of quality of life of smoker should be decreased during pandemic and this result is concordant with the observation by Al Kalif et al, (2021).…”

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We read the article entitle "The Negative Impact of Tobacco Smoking on Health-Related Quality of Life among Saudi Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Al Kalif et al, 2021)." Al Kalif et al, (2021) concluded that "The results indicate that smoking has a negative impact on the quality of life of vocational students. Therefore, a health strategies plan may be developed to improve the quality of life for vocational students in Saudi Arabia."

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“…Indeed, the negative impact of smoking is a well-known knowledge. Considering the present study, Al Kalif et al, (2021) focused on the period of COVID-19 pandemic. There are some simple questions that should be raised.…”

Impact of COVID-19 severity on health-related quality of life among Saudi adult patients

“…For example, mass gatherings have been canceled, schools closed, Hajj pilgrimage has been restricted, curfews have been imposed, and localities have been locked down due to increased transmission [26,27]. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an essential component of public health monitoring and physical and mental health [22]. Often survivors of COV-ID-19 may develop post-COVID-19 syndrome affecting physical, cognitive, or mental functions [1,2,5,28].…”

“…Health-related quality of life was assessed using the RAND-12 item Short Form Health Survey (SF12) scale. We used the translated version to the Arabic language from a Saudi study that used the HRQoL RAND-12 tool [22]. These include physical function (PF), physical role (RP), physical pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social function (SF), role emotion (RE), and mental health (MH).…”