Variations in risks from smoking between high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: an analysis of data from 179000 participants from 63 countries

• Background: Separate studies suggest that the risks from smoking might vary between high-income (HICs), middle-income (MICs), and low-income (LICs) countries, but this has not yet been systematically examined within a single study using standardised approaches. We examined the variations in risks from smoking across different country income groups and some of their potential reasons. Methods: We analysed data from 134 909 participants from 21 countries followed up for a median of 11·3 years in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) cohort study; 9711 participants with myocardial infarction and 11 362 controls from 52 countries in the INTERHEART case-control study; and 11 580 participants with stroke and 11 331 controls from 32 countries in the INTERSTROKE case-control study. In PURE, all-cause mortality, major cardiovascular disease, cancers, respiratory diseases, and their composite were the primary outcomes for this analysis. Biochemical verification of urinary total nicotine equivalent was done in a substudy of 1000 participants in PURE. Findings: In PURE, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the composite outcome in current smokers (vs never smokers) was higher in HICs (HR 1·87, 95% CI 1·65–2·12) than in MICs (1·41, 1·34–1·49) and LICs (1·35, 1·25–1·46; interaction p<0·0001). Similar patterns were observed for each component of the composite outcome in PURE, myocardial infarction in INTERHEART, and stroke in INTERSTROKE. The median levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide displayed on the cigarette packs from PURE HICs were higher than those on the packs from MICs. In PURE, the proportion of never smokers reporting high second-hand smoke exposure (≥1 times/day) was 6·3% in HICs, 23·2% in MICs, and 14·0% in LICs. The adjusted geometric mean total nicotine equivalent was higher among current smokers in HICs (47·2 μM) than in MICs (31·1 μM) and LICs (25·2 μM; ANCOVA p<0·0001). By contrast, it was higher among never smokers in LICs (18·8 μM) and MICs (11·3 μM) than in HICs (5·0 μM; ANCOVA p=0·0001). Interpretation: The variations in risks from smoking between country income groups are probably related to the higher exposure of tobacco-derived toxicants among smokers in HICs and higher rates of high second-hand smoke exposure among never smokers in MICs and LICs. Funding: Full funding sources are listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments). © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

carbon monoxide

glucose

lipid

nicotine

tar

acute myeloid leukemia

adult

aged

alcohol consumption

all cause mortality

Article

asthma

bidi smoking

bladder cancer

blood pressure

body height

body weight

cardiovascular disease

case control study

cerebrovascular accident

chewing tobacco

chronic bronchitis

chronic obstructive lung disease

cigarette smoking

cohort analysis

colon cancer

controlled study

current smoker

diabetes mellitus

disease duration

dyslipidemia

esophagus cancer

female

follow up

glucose blood level

healthy diet

heart failure

heart infarction

high income country

human

hypertension

influenza

interstitial lung disease

larynx cancer

liver cancer

low income country

lung cancer

major clinical study

male

malignant neoplasm

middle income country

mouth cancer

never smoker

pancreas cancer

pharynx cancer

physical activity

physical inactivity

Piper betle

pneumonia

questionnaire

rectum cancer

respiratory tract disease

sensitivity analysis

smoking

stomach cancer

time of flight mass spectrometry

tobacco

tuberculosis

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