Gender Differences in Smoking Among U.S. Working Adults

Background Cigarette smoking remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Although gender differences in cigarette smoking in the U.S. population have been documented, information on these differences among working adults is limited. Purpose To describe the current smoking prevalence by gende...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of preventive medicine 2014-10, Vol.47 (4), p.467-475
Main Authors: Syamlal, Girija, MBBS, MPH, Mazurek, Jacek M., MD, MS, PhD, Dube, Shanta R., PhD, MPH
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Female
Health Status
Health Surveys
Humans
Internal Medicine
Male
Middle Aged
Occupations - statistics & numerical data
Prevalence
Sex Factors
Smoking - epidemiology
United States - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Background Cigarette smoking remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Although gender differences in cigarette smoking in the U.S. population have been documented, information on these differences among working adults is limited. Purpose To describe the current smoking prevalence by gender among working U.S. adults and examine gender differences in smoking by occupation. Methods The 2004–2011 National Health Interview Survey data for adults aged ≥18 years that were working in the week prior to the interview (N=132,215) were analyzed in 2013. Current cigarette smokers were those who smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke every day or some days. Results During 2004–2011, an estimated 22.8% of men workers and 18.3% of women workers were current smokers. Of the current smokers, women workers had higher odds of being an everyday smoker (prevalence OR [POR]=1.17, 95% CI=1.09, 1.26); having poor self-rated emotional health (POR=1.28, 95% CI=1.15, 1.41); and having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (POR=2.45, 95% CI=2.14, 2.80), heart disease (POR=1.27, 95% CI=1.12, 1.45), and current asthma (POR=2.21, 95% CI=1.96, 2.49) compared with men workers. Women in “supervisors, construction, and extraction” (38.9%) occupations and men in “extraction” (40.5%) occupations had the highest smoking prevalence. Conclusion Among working adults, women had lower prevalence of smoking than men, yet women who smoke were more likely than men to have adverse health outcomes, including self-rated poorer physical and emotional health.
ISSN:0749-3797
1873-2607
DOI:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.06.013