Smoking and Its Relation to Metabolic Status among Chinese Adults: Analysis of a Nationwide Survey

Objective To update the estimated prevalence rates of smoking and examine major metabolic diseases associated with smoking status in Chinese adults. Methods Using a complex, multistage, probability sampling design, we recruited a nationally representative sample of 98,658 Chinese adults aged >= 18 years in 2010. Information on current, former, never, and passive smoking status was obtained using a standard questionnaire. All estimates were weighted to represent the overall Chinese adult population. Results The estimated proportion of current smokers was 28.3% for Chinese adults aged >= 18 years. The corresponding values of former and passive smokers were 5.1% and 21.4%, respectively. Additionally, former smokers were found to have a less favorable metabolic risk profile among all categories of smoking status in both men and women. The prevalence of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension also increased with a greater number of smoking pack-years in men. Conclusion The prevalences of current smoking and passive smoking remain high in Chinese adults.