Neighborhood Poverty Increases Risk for Cigarette Smoking From Age 30 to 39

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with higher rates of smoking. Few longitudinal studies have examined indicators of SES at both the neighborhood- and individual-level over time in conjunction with proximal risk factors of cigarette smoking.

To examine associations of time-varying measures of SES, demographic factors, and proximal risk factors for smoking net of average trajectories of smoking behavior from ages 30 to 39 in a community sample.

Data from the Seattle Social Development Project (N = 752), a theory-driven longitudinal study originating in Seattle, WA, were used to estimate trajectories of smoking from age 30 to 39. Time-varying measures of neighborhood poverty, coworker smoking, partner smoking, depression, anxiety, education, income, marital status, and parenthood were associated with smoking over time using latent growth curve modeling.

Results indicated that living in higher poverty neighborhoods was uniquely associated with a greater likelihood of smoking net of average trajectories of smoking from age 30 to 39, gender and race/ethnicity, time-varying measures of SES and demographics, and time-varying measures of proximal risk factors for smoking.

Living in higher poverty neighborhoods presents a unique risk for smoking among adults aged 30 to 39 above and beyond multiple aspects of SES and other potential mechanisms relating SES to smoking.