ER Visits More Common In Chronic-Disease Smokers, Study Suggests

Smokers are up to four times more likely to visit the emergency room, according to recent findings published in the journal Nursing Research.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from 2009 of 56,000 people between the ages of 18 to 64 who used Medicaid to cover the medical expenses.

Study participants were grouped into four different areas involving their smoking use, including chronic disease; diagnosed with chronic disease; diagnosed with system failure and healthy.

Researchers found that those diagnosed with chronic-disease like smoking were up to three times more likely to frequent the ER than those who were healthy or did not smoke. Frequent ER users were defined as those who visited the ER more than three times a year.

"There are a few super-users who have been in the ER 40 or 50 times, but when we step back and look at the whole population, we see a different pattern," explained Castner, assistant professor in the UB School of Nursing. "People aren't replacing their doctor; they are sicker, have more chronic diseases and are using everything more."