The perception of dyspnea and fatigue in young adult smokers

Objective the aim of this study was to compare the perception of dyspnea and fatigue between smoker and non-smoker young adult subjects. material-method seventy-two smokers (mean age 33.71±11.09 years), ninety-nine non-smoker subjects (mean age 30.70±12.43 years) and totally 171 subjects were included to the study. gender, age, weight, height and body mass index (bmi) of the subjects were choosen as similarly because these demographical characters may affect dyspnea and fatigue of the subjects. the severity of dyspnea and fatigue were evaluated by visual analogue scale (vas). dyspnea severity was examined in four different situations such as night, day, rest and activity. mann-whitney u test was used for statistical analysis. results smoking duration in smoker group was determined as 14.1 pack-years. dyspnea severity in non-smoker group during night, day, rest and activity was 0.38, 0.44, 0.38 and 1.19 respectively. perceived fatigue was found as 2.53. it was observed that in smoker group these values were 1.60, 1.23, 1.21 ve 2.94 respectively. perceived fatigue was found as 3.47. it was determined that there was a statitically significant different in dyspnea and fatigue perception between two groups (p<0.05). discussion in this study, it was determined that smoking causes to dyspnea and fatigue in young and adult individuals. however, these symptoms may be ignored or overlooked in this age group. raising smoking cessation programs and public awareness is very important for the recognition and prevention of these symptoms which can result in chronic diseases. in addition, the scope of protection and improving health efforts, it is thought that it will be effective if the individuals are redirected to activities such as sports or social activities in order to prevent starting smoking or to start smoking cessation.