Area-level characteristics and smoking in women.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined whether area-level characteristics are associated with individual smoking behavior among women.


METHODS
Analyses included 648 women enrolled as control patients in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (1993-1996). Smoking and covariate information was obtained from interviews. Area-level characteristics included census block-group education level, poverty, unemployment, car-home ownership, crowding, and, for 431 women, city-level crime rates.


RESULTS
In multivariate logistic regression models, no area characteristics were clearly associated with a history of smoking. Among those who had ever smoked, continued smoking was associated with living in low-education areas (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0, 2.9), high-unemployment areas (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.0, 2.8), and high-crime areas (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 0.8, 3.2).


CONCLUSIONS
The present findings are consistent with a growing literature suggesting that area-level social and economic disadvantage influences individual smoking behavior.
Tseng
M
M
Division of Population Science, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa 19111, USA. m_tseng@fccc.edu
Yeatts
K
K
Millikan
R
R
Newman
B
B
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D019352:Censuses; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003441:Crowding / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology; D016387:Women's Health