Changes in the smoking behavior of elderly Mexican Americans in the Southwest from 1982-1984 to 1993-1994

Changes in and patterns of smoking exposure in an elderly urban population in Beijing: 2001-2010

OBJECTIVE

The study aims to explore the patterns and changes of active and passive smoking in the elderly population.

METHODS

Two cross-sectional surveys with representative samples of urban populations, aged between 60 and 95 years old, were conducted in 2001 and 2010 in Beijing. A current smoker was defined as a person who smoked a tobacco product at the time of the survey, and a passive smoker was defined as a person who had been exposed to smoke exhaled by a smoker for more than 15 minutes per day more than once per week.

RESULTS

A total of 2,277 participants in 2001 and 2,102 participants in 2010 completed the survey. The current smoking prevalence changed slightly in males (24.7 vs. 21.2%, P = 0.081), while the prevalence in females decreased significantly from 8.8% (95% CI: 7.3-10.3%) in 2001 to 4.1% (95% CI: 3.0-5.2%) in 2010 (P<0.001). The prevalence of passive smoking was 30.5% (95% CI: 28.6-32.4%) in 2001 and 30.0% (95% CI: 28.1-32.0%) in 2010. The main source of secondhand smoke switched from a spouse in 2001 to offspring in 2010. This trend was observed in both sexes. Passive smoking in males from a smoking spouse decreased from 5.7% to 2.4% (P<0.001), while that from smoking offspring increased from 7.3 to 14.5% (P<0.001). Passive smoking in females from a spouse decreased from 30.6 to 17.6%, while that from offspring increased from 5.3 to 15.4% (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Offspring became the main source of secondhand smoke for the elderly. Our findings demonstrated the importance of implementing smoking prevention programs, to educate older adults who live with a smoking spouse and/or offspring.

Tobacco use among the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to combine the results of identified surveys on the prevalence of tobacco use in old age to estimate world prevalence of tobacco use and possible factors related to such behavior among the elderly. The literature search included electronic databases such as MEDLINE, LILACS, and Biological Abstracts, hand-searching of specialist journals and cited reference searches. The combined global prevalence was estimated using the random effects model. The total number of elderly subjects included in all surveys was 140,058, with data available from all the continents. Overall prevalence of tobacco use was 13% in both genders (22% male and 8% female). The prevalence rates were heterogeneous among surveys and were associated with smoking definition, questionnaire application, and country economic status. Few epidemiological studies assessed tobacco use among the elderly. A higher prevalence rate of tobacco use in males who live in higher income countries could be found, although additional evidence regarding elderly samples is still required.

How much do rural Hispanics know about the adverse health risks of smoking?

The object of this study was to measure knowledge in a rural Hispanic community about the adverse health effects of smoking and to compare knowledge between current smokers and nonsmokers. A survey was administered to waiting room patients (n =137) over 16 years old at three predominantly Hispanic rural community health centers in the central San Joaquin Valley of California. Proportions of respondents who believed that smoking caused a specific consequence were calculated and compared between smokers and nonsmokers by chi-square tests. Likelihood of attributing negative health consequences to smoking was determined and compared between smokers and nonsmokers. A majority of all participants (smokers and nonsmokers) knew that smoking causes lung cancer (93 percent) and emphysema (91 percent). Many fewer participants knew that smoking contributes to problems such as osteoporosis (39 percent) or sexual dysfunction (33 percent). Current smokers were less likely than nonsmokers (P=0.01) to say that smoking causes any adverse health outcome, including those not known to be related to smoking. Although this is a culturally, ethnically and geographically unique group, knowledge of smoking risks among smoking and nonsmoking rural Hispanics is similar to that found in the general population. When compared with nonsmokers, current smokers underestimate the risk that smoking poses to health.