Cigarette smoking and perceived risk of cardiovascular disease in Iran

Studies have consistently demonstrated a strong link between cigarette smoking and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). On the other hand, studies have shown that most smokers do not have a real understanding of the cardiovascular health hazards of smoking. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the perceived risk of Myocardial Infarction (MI), Hypertension (HTN), and Stroke among current smokers in Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2023, and recruited 380 smokers by convenience sampling who smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. The data were collected using three questionnaires (1) the questionnaire to assess the risk perception for MI, HTN, and Stroke, (2) the smoking stage of change questionnaire, and (3) the Fagerström Test for nicotine dependence (FTND). The CVD risk perception consisted of two parts, perceived susceptibility and perceived severity. Each part scores between 0 and 10 and finally gets a total score of 0-20. A score of zero indicated the lowest risk perception while a score of 20 indicated the highest risk perception. We examined the relationship between the demographic and smoking-related variables and the smokers' perceived risk of MI, stroke, and HTN by using multiple linear regression. The mean age of participants was 35.57 ± 12.05 years, and 77.1% were male. The perceived risk score of MI was 10.68 ± 4.69 out of 20. The scores related to stroke and HTN were 10.00 ± 4.65 and 10.89 ± 4.73, respectively. Identified variables collectively contributed significantly to predicting the perceived risk of MI (p