Perceived discrimination and smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China

BACKGROUND: Smoking may be a coping mechanism for psychosocial stress caused by perceived discrimination. It is unknown whether perceived discrimination is associated with increased smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China. METHODS: We conducted secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey in 10 Chinese cities to investigate whether perceived discrimination is associated with smoking behavior among rural-to-urban migrant women in China. We constructed multivariable Poisson regression models to estimate the prevalence ratios (PRs) of ever tried smoking (≥1 cigarette during lifetime) and current smoking (≥1 cigarette during past 30 days) for participants who reported perceived discrimination compared to those did not report perceived discrimination. RESULTS: Of the 1696 restaurant and hotel workers (RHWs) and 532 female sex workers (FSWs) enrolled, 155 (9.1%) and 63 (11.8%) reported perceived discrimination, 312 (18.4%) and 310 (58.3%) had ever tried smoking, and 54 (3.2%) and 223 (41.9%) were current smokers, respectively. Controlling for confounders (age, education, monthly, study province, ethnicity, months since first moved to the city, and satisfaction with life and job) perceived discrimination was independently associated with ever tried smoking (PR, 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-2.23) and current smoking (PR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.32-4.79) among RHWs and ever tried smoking (PR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.16-1.61) and current smoking (PR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.28-2.06) among FSWs. DISCUSSION: Perceived discrimination is associated with increased prevalence of smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China. Policies that provide equal rights to migrants and protect them from discrimination might help prevent smoking in this population.