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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Smoking, leisure-time exercise and frequency of self-reported common cold among the general population in northeastern China: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Ge Zhou, Hongjian Liu, Minfu He, Mengjia Yue, Ping Gong, Fangyuan Wu, Xuanxuan Li, Yingxin Pang, Xiaodi Yang, Juan Ma, Meitian Liu, Jinghua Li, Xiumin Zhang

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Physical activity (PA) and smoking have been reported to be associated with the duration and severity of common cold symptoms. However, few studies have addressed the associations between the frequency of leisure-time exercise, cigarette smoking status and the frequency of the common cold in a cold area. This study was designed to investigate these issues in northeastern China.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included individuals who participated in a regular health examination conducted in Jilin Province, China. Information on episodes of the common cold, the frequency of leisure-time exercise and cigarette smoking status in the past year were collected by self-administered health questionnaires. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to analyse the associations between the frequency of leisure-time exercise, cigarette smoking status and the retrospective frequency of common cold.

Results

A total of 1413 employees participated in the study, with an average age of 38.92 ± 9.04 years and 44.4% of them were male. Of all participants, 80.8% reported having experienced the common cold in the past year. After adjustment, the risk of suffering from the common cold more than once (odds ratios (ORs), 1.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.27–1.99) in passive smokers was 1.59 times as high as that in non-smokers. Nevertheless, the results of the adjusted analysis showed no statistically significant relation between current smoking and the frequency of the common cold. A high frequency of leisure-time exercise (≥3 days/week) was associated with a 26% reduced risk of having at least one episode of the common cold (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.55–0.98) compared with a low frequency group (< 4 days/month). For current and passive smokers, the protective effect of a high frequency of leisure-time exercise appears not to be obvious (current smokers: OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.33–1.43; passive smokers: OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.69–1.93).

Conclusion

Passive smoking was associated with a higher risk of having self-reported common cold at least once, while a high frequency of leisure-time exercise was related to a lower risk of reporting more than one episode of the disease in Chinese.
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Metadata
Title
Smoking, leisure-time exercise and frequency of self-reported common cold among the general population in northeastern China: a cross-sectional study
Authors
Ge Zhou
Hongjian Liu
Minfu He
Mengjia Yue
Ping Gong
Fangyuan Wu
Xuanxuan Li
Yingxin Pang
Xiaodi Yang
Juan Ma
Meitian Liu
Jinghua Li
Xiumin Zhang
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5203-5

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