Impact of anti-tobacco legislation on hospitalization of patients with respiratory diseases in three regions of the Russian Federation

Abstract

AIM: Tо assess the impact of anti-tobacco measures under federal anti-tobacco law on the hospital admissions for pneumonia of various diagnoses, and other acute respiratory infections of the lower respiratory tract, bronchial asthma, and asthmatic status in the Samara, Arkhangelsk regions, and the Chuvash Republic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of monthly hospital admissions for pneumonia (ICD-10 J12J18), and other acute respiratory infections of the lower respiratory airways (ICD-10 J20J22), asthma (ICD-10 J45), and status asthmaticus (ICD-10 J46) was carried out in the three selected regions of the Russian Federation from the 1st of January, 2012, till the 31st of December, 2017, and in subgroups (014, 1559, 60 years, and older). The analytical approach used was the interrupted time series method, which was performed using the STATA 15.0 software package. RESULTS: From this study, it was revealed that there was a decrease in the hospital incidence of respiratory airways infections after each stage of enacting the anti-tobacco policy in all the three selected regions of the Russian Federation. In the Arkhangelsk region, this decrease amounted to 19% in 2013, and 22% in 2014. In the Samara region, 20% and 23% respectively, and the Chuvash Republic, 31% and 39% respectively. A significant decrease in hospital admissions for asthma and status asthmaticus was observed only in the Chuvash Republic (the decrease occurred by 11% in 2013, and by 12% in 2014). In other regions, the observed decrease was not significant. CONCLUSION: From this study, the results obtained have shown that the anti-tobacco measures introduced in Russia in 2013 and 2014 were responsible for the decrease in the number of hospitalizations for lower respiratory airways infections within the same period.