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Mortality attributable to cigarette smoking in China
1Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, China. hrmrlth@hkucc.hku.hk
JAMA
|November 18, 1997
Summary
Smoking significantly increases mortality risks in China, with higher death rates from all causes, cancer, and heart disease observed in ever-smokers compared to never-smokers. These findings highlight the urgent need for tobacco control measures to prevent a growing epidemic.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Previous studies on smoking and mortality in China had short follow-up periods, potentially underestimating risks.
- A significant proportion of men (56%) and a smaller proportion of women (12%) were identified as ever-smokers at the study's outset.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term (20-year) mortality associated with smoking in a Chinese cohort.
- To compare mortality rates between individuals who have ever smoked and those who have never smoked.
Main Methods:
- A cohort analytic study was conducted in a machinery factory in Xi'an, China.
- 1696 participants (1124 men, 572 women) aged 35+ were examined in May 1976.
- Data on all-cause and tobacco-associated mortality were collected over a 20-year follow-up period.
Main Results:
- Over 20 years, 218 participants died (173 men, 45 women).
- Ever-smoking men showed significantly higher relative risks for all-cause mortality (2.42), cancer (2.50), and coronary heart disease (3.61).
- Ever-smoking women also exhibited increased relative risks for all-cause mortality (2.32) and coronary heart disease (4.67), though cancer risk was less pronounced (1.98).
Conclusions:
- Long-term follow-up confirms smoking as a major cause of death in China, with risks comparable to Western countries.
- Approximately half of China's 300 million smokers may die from smoking-related diseases without urgent tobacco control interventions.
- The study underscores the critical need for public health strategies to combat the escalating smoking epidemic in China.
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