Gender differences in social environmental changes associated with smoking: a cross-sectional study from Chinese...

To identify clues for women's tobacco control, this study analyses the gender differences in social environmental changes associated with smoking and the interaction between the environment and individuals' social integration.

A cross-sectional design and secondary analysis were used among Chinese internal migrants. Data were from the 2012 Migrant Dynamics Monitoring Survey in China with participants aged 15-59 years old (75 416 women and 83 140 men) who resided in cities for more than 1 month.

Social environmental changes were measured by differences in smoking prevalence and women's empowerment between the migrant-receiving province (MRP) and migrant-sending province (MSP). Social participation and duration of stay (DOS) were adopted as indicators of social integration. Stratified analysis and binary logistic regression models were used to determine the dependent variable (smoking status) and environmental changes after controlling for age, education, income and happiness.

Differences in the smoking prevalence environment (lower in MRP, OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.83; higher rate in MRP, OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.37) and women's empowerment (lower rate in MRP, OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.97; higher rate in MRP, OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.33) between MRP and MSP were positively correlated with women's smoking. In men, however, migrating to an area with lower smoking prevalence could not reduce smoking risk, whereas moving to an area with higher women's empowerment could. A long DOS was an independent risk factor for smoking in women (ranged from 1.20 to 2.00 in various environmental changes scenarios) but a protective factor for men. An interaction between environmental changes and social integration could not be verified.

Tobacco control strategies should consider gender differences, especially women who are experiencing social environmental changes.