Tobacco use is not associated with groin hernia repair, a population-based study

Purpose The pathogenesis of groin hernia is not fully understood and some suggested risk factors are debatable. This population-based study evaluates the association between groin hernia repair and tobacco use. Method An observational study based on register linkage between the Swedish Hernia Register and the Vasterbotten Intervention Program (VIP). All primary groin hernia repairs performed from 2001 to 2013 in the county of Vasterbotten, Sweden, were included. Results VIP provided data on the use of tobacco in 102,857 individuals. Neither smoking nor the use of snus, increased the risk for requiring a groin hernia repair. On the contrary, heavy smoking decreased the risk for men, HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.58-0.96), as did having a BMI over 30 kg/m 2 HR (men) 0.33 (95% CI 0.27-0.40). Conclusion Tobacco use is not a risk factor for requiring a groin hernia repair, whereas having a low BMI significantly increases the risk.