title: Smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and direct health care costs for Puerto Rico, 1983.
abstract: The authors report the impact of smoking upon health in Puerto Rico for the year 1983. Using a microcomputer spread-sheet program that calculates smoking-attributable disease impact, they estimated that 2,468 deaths were attributable to smoking. This represented 11.5% of all deaths on the island in 1983 and resulted in approximately 19,445 years of potential life lost (YPLL). It appears that cigarette smoking caused US+55.9 million in direct health care expenditures for Puerto Rico in 1983, an amount equal to 10% of the island's yearly expenditures on health. Calculations such as these demonstrate the enormous disease impact of smoking and may assist policy-makers in planning prevention and intervention activities, both in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in Latin America.
authors.affiliation: Division of Field Services, Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Dietz
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Novotny
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Rigau-Pérez
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schultz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*