Do smoking habits differ between women and men in contemporary Western populations? Evidence from half a million people in the UK Biobank study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Several studies have shown that smoking may confer a greater excess risk for chronic diseases in women compared with men. The reasons for this excess risk of smoking in women are unclear, yet sex differences in smoking habits may play a role. We, thus, characterised sex differences in smoking habits in a contemporary Western population.

Design

Cross-sectional population-based study.

Setting

UK Biobank Resource.

Participants

499,797 (54% women) individuals with data on smoking habits.

Main outcome measures

Women-to-men prevalence ratios in smoking status, and the women-minus-men mean difference in age at smoking initiation, number of cigarettes smoked daily and age at smoking cessation in 5-year birth cohort bands.

Results

The women-to-m

SUBMITTER: Peters SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4281541 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature