Ten-year changes in smoking among young adults: are racial differences explained by socioeconomic factors in the CARDIA study?
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated whether socioeconomic factors explain racial/ethnic differences in regular smoking initiation and cessation.


METHODS
Data were derived from the CARDIA study, a cohort of 5115 healthy adults aged 18 to 30 years at baseline (1985-1986) and recruited from the populations of 4 US cities. Respondents were followed over 10 years.


RESULTS
Among 3950 respondents reexamined in 1995-1996, 20% of Whites and 33% of African Americans were smokers, as compared with 25% and 32%, respectively, in 1985-1986. On average, African Americans were of lower socioeconomic status. Ten-year regular smoking initiation rates for African American women, White women, African American men, and White men were 7.1%, 3.5%, 13.2%, and 5.1%, respectively, and the corresponding cessation rates were 25%, 35.1%, 19.2%, and 31.3%. After adjustment for socioeconomic factors, most 95% confidence intervals of the odds ratios for regular smoking initiation and cessation in African Americans vs Whites included 1.


CONCLUSIONS
Less beneficial 10-year changes in smoking were observed in African Americans, but socioeconomic factors explained most of the racial disparity.
Kiefe
C I
CI
Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1717 11th Ave S, MT 700, Birmingham, AL 35205-4785, USA. ckiefe@uab.edu
Williams
O D
OD
Lewis
C E
CE
Allison
J J
JJ
Sekar
P
P
Wagenknecht
L E
LE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011203:Poverty / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000639:trends*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000639:trends*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*