Smoking and eight-year mortality in an elderly cohort.
METHODS
The increasing numbers of elderly people highlight the question of smoking effects in this age group.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether there is a relationship between smoking and 8-year mortality in a representative elderly cohort aged 65 years and over, residing in the department of Gironde, in the south-west of France.


METHODS
Data were collected by a questionnaire administered during home visits. Every death was systematically recorded during the 8-year follow-up.


RESULTS
The 2786 (99.8%) subjects included in the study were categorised into current smokers, former smokers and never smokers. Mortality was higher (P < 0.0001) in men (39.6%) than in women (29.4%). In men, the risk of mortality was higher (P = 0.01) among current (44.5%) and former smokers (41.4%) than in never smokers (32.5%). The risks were similar in never smokers and former smokers who had stopped more than 20 years previously. Tobacco consumption in pack-years was higher (P = 0.02) in those people who died during the follow-up period than in those who were still alive. Mortality due to respiratory disease (P = 0.008) and lung cancer (P < 0.0001) was significantly higher in current smokers than in former and never smokers. Adjusting for potential confounding factors, smoking remains significantly associated with mortality both in current (relative risk [RR] = 1.7, P < 0.001) and former smokers (RR = 1.3, P = 0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
These results confirm the consequences of smoking even in the elderly, and raise the question of smoking prevention after 65 years of age.
Tessier
J F
JF
INSERM Unité 330, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux II, France.
Nejjari
C
C
Letenneur
L
L
Barberger-Gateau
P
P
Dartigues
J F
JF
Salamon
R
R
D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D016019:Survival Analysis