Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #109920

Rachel Widome, MHS¹, David R. Jacobs Jr., PhD¹, Pamela J. Schreiner, PhD, MS, MS², Catherine Loria, PhD, MS, MA³, Carlos Iribarren, MD, MPH, PhD⁴, and J. Jeffrey Carr, MD, MSCE⁵. (1) Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454-1015, 612-625-3404, widome@epi.umn.edu, (2) School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second St., Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, (3) Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 6701 Rockledge Dr., Rm. 8112, Bethesda, MD 20892-7934, (4) Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, 2000 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612, (5) Division of Radiological Sciences & Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2000 West First Street, Suite 618, Winston-Salem, NC 27103

Secondhand smoke exposure is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The reduction in active smoking during the time period of the CARDIA study, coupled with a decreasing societal acceptance for smoking indoors led to this exploration into secondhand smoke exposure epidemiology. METHODS: Exposure to secondhand smoke and workplace policies were self-reported in a bi-racial cohort of adults aged 18-30 years, recruited from 4 urban areas in 1985/86 and re-examined 2, 5, 7, 10, and 15 years later. Field center and sex adjusted means across the 6 examinations were used to describe the secondhand smoke exposure trend for baseline non-smokers, former smokers, and current smokers by educational level and ethnicity (black vs. white). Baseline self-reported smoking status and secondhand smoke exposure were validated with serum cotinine levels. RESULTS: In white non-smokers, total secondhand smoke exposure declined from 20.5 hr/wk in 1985-86 to 6.6 hr/wk in 2000-2001; in black non-smokers, this decline was from 22.8 hr/wk to 7.8 hr/wk. Less education tended to be associated with more exposure. In years 10 and 15, working in an environment that prohibited smoking was associated with less exposure to secondhand smoke in non-smokers. However, within policy types, black and less educated participants tended to report more exposure to workplace smoke than whites and those better educated. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a substantial decline in self-reported secondhand smoke exposure since 1985, although exposure differs across ethnicity and education levels. The increasing presence of restrictive workplace policies may contribute to the reduction.

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