Mortality attributable to tobacco smoking in Mexico

Objective. To study the mortality attributable to tobacco and alcohol consumption. Material and Methods. Deaths occurring in 1998, abstracted from the mortality statistics registry in the Coyoacan District of Mexico City, were classified by cause as: Cardiovascular Diseases, Respiratory Diseases, and Neoplasias. Relatives of the deceased were interviewed to answer a questionnaire on tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking. Results. Smoking during the last ten years of life was significantly associated with cardiovascular disease in men aged 70 years or older (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.18-3.58). Persistent smoking in the last year of life was significantly associated with deaths from neoplasias and respiratory diseases in women aged 70 years or older (OR: 7.24, 95% CI 1.71-30.53; OR: 4.82 95% CI 1.41-16.50, respectively). The regression model for cardiovascular disease showed that subjects with intense tobacco consumption were almost twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.1-2.8, p <0.0 1). The population attributable risk for cardiovascular disease was 45%. Conclusions. Tobacco smoking is an important predictor of dead among the elderly in Mexico. Tobacco control programs should also be targeted to the elderly. The English version of this paper is available at: http:// www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.