Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking in low and mid income countries: positive gradients among women?

ABSTRACT:

Background

In Southern Europe, smoking among older women was more prevalent among the high educated than the lower educated, we call this a positive gradient. This is dominant in the early stages of the smoking epidemic model, later replaced by a negative gradient. The aim of this study is to assess if a positive gradient in smoking can also be observed in low and middle income countries in other regions of the world.

Methods

We used data of the World Health Survey from 49 countries and a total of 233,917 respondents. Multilevel logistic regression was used to model associations between individual level smoking and both individual level and country level determinants. We stratified results by education, occupation, sex and generation (younger vs. older than 45). Countries we

SUBMITTER: Bosdriesz JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3922442 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature