Active Cigarette Smoking, Secondhand Smoke Exposure at Work and Home, and Self-Rated Health

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hojou M ; Ikeda T ; Nakata A ; Swanson, Naomi G. ; Takahashi M
• Description:
  Objectives: Although active smoking has been reported to be associated with poor self-rated health (SRH), its association with secondhand smoke (SHS) is not well understood. Study design: A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the association of active smoking and SHS exposure with SRH. Methods: A total of 2558 workers (1899 men and 689 women), aged 16-83 (mean 45) years, in 296 small and medium-sized enterprises were surveyed by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Smoking status and exposure levels to SHS (no, occasional or regular) among lifetime non-smokers were assessed separately at work and at home. SRH was assessed with the question: How would you describe your health during the past 1-year period (very poor, poor, good, very good)? SRH was dichotomized into suboptimal (poor, very poor) and optimal (good, very good). Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for reporting suboptimal vs optimal SRH according to smoking status and smoke exposure were calculated. Results: Current heavy smokers (20+ cigarettes/day) had a significantly increased suboptimal SRH than lifetime non-smokers after adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, physical and occupational factors (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.06-1.69). Similarly, lifetime non-smokers occasionally exposed to SHS at work alone had worse SRH than their unexposed counterparts (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.02-2.11). In contrast, lifetime non-smokers exposed at home alone had no significant increase in suboptimal SRH. Conclusions: The present study indicates an increase in suboptimal SRH among current heavy smokers, and suggests that SHS exposure at work is a possible risk factor for non-smokers. Whether or not the association is causal, control of smoking at work may protect workers from developing future health conditions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Demography Occupational Health Safety Small Business Smoke Smokers Surveys And Questionnaires Tobacco Products
• Keywords:
  Cigarette-smoking Demographic-characteristics Questionnaires Small-businesses Statistical-analysis Tobacco-smoke
• ISSN:
  0033-3506
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  123
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036080
• Citation:
  Public Health 2009 Oct; 123(10):650-656
• Contact Point Address:
  A. Nakata, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  cji5@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Public Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a03ee0e59a5af8c5bdfcb2c26de9bb0b40adae3fcc588eaea5da9a3361d1b83d0b162d7269b37391676759d375fd30c9244997a9bee69f36a132780b784eb33b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187673/cdc_187673_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 152.34 KB ]