Risks of smoking and hypertension in an Australian community: a cohort study

A prevalence study of smoking behaviour and blood pressure was carried out in Queenscliff, Victoria, in 1975. At the end of 1981, of the 1124 subjects who attended the survey and were aged 40 years or more, all but 12 could be positively identified as being alive or dead. In the case of the latter, the date of death was ascertained. Using a proportional hazards analysis, the relative risks were calculated for hypertension and for smoking; these were similar to those reported from the bench-mark studies carried out over 20 years ago. The risks appear to be additive, with no evidence of interaction.