Impact of Smoking on Anal Abscess and Anal Fistula Diseases

Background: Several studies have investigated the association between smoking and anal abscess and anal fistula (AA/F) diseases. However, the relationship between cigarette smoking and AA/F remains unclear. This study sought to assess the role of smoking in anorectal male patients in a Chinese population. Methods: In this retrospective study, a questionnaire, including smoking history, was completed over a 3-month period by male inpatients in the Proctology Department of China-Japan Friendship Hospital. 'Cases' were patients who had AA/F, and 'controls' were patients with other anorectal complaints. Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square test were carried out to examine differences in baseline characteristics between groups. Subsequently, multivariate logistic regression was used to explore any related factors. Results: A total of 977 patients aged from 18 to 80 years were included, excluding those diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease or diabetes mellitus. Out of this total, 805 patients (82.4%) completed the entire questionnaire. Among the 805 patients, 334 (41.5%) were cases and 471 (58.5%) were controls. Results showed significant differences between cases and controls (χ² = 205.2, P < 0.001), with smoking found to be associated with the development of AA/F diseases (odds ratio: 12.331, 95% confidence interval: 8.364-18.179, P < 0.001). Conclusions: This study suggested smoking to be a potential risk factor for the development of AA/F diseases in a Chinese population. Consequently, current smoking patients should be informed of this relationship, and further research should be conducted to explore and investigate this further.