Social Disparities in Tobacco Use in Mumbai, India: The Roles of Occupation, Education, and Gender
Glorian Sorensen, PhD, MPH,
Prakash C. Gupta, DSc, FACE and
Mangesh S. Pednekar, MSc
Glorian Sorensen is with the Center for Community-Based Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass. At the time of this study, Prakash C. Gupta was with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India; Mangesh S. Pednekar was with the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, India.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Glorian Sorensen, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney St, Boston, MA 02115 (e-mail: glorian_sorensen{at}dfci.harvard.edu).
Objectives. We assessed social disparities in the prevalenceof overall tobacco use, smoking, and smokeless tobacco use inMumbai, India, by examining occupation-, education-, and gender-specificpatterns.
Methods. Data were derived from a cross-sectional survey conductedbetween 1992 and 1994 as the baseline for the Mumbai CohortStudy (n=81837).
Results. Odds ratios (ORs) for overall tobacco use accordingto education level (after adjustment for age and occupation)showed a strong gradient; risks were higher among illiterateparticipants (male OR = 7.38, female OR = 20.95) than amongcollege educated participants. After age and education had beencontrolled, odds of tobacco use were also significant accordingto occupation; unskilled male workers (OR = 1.66), male serviceworkers (OR = 1.32), and unemployed individuals (male OR = 1.84,female OR = 1.95) were more at risk than professionals. Thesteepest education- and occupation-specific gradients were observedamong male bidi smokers and female smokeless tobacco users.
Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that educationand occupation have important simultaneous and independent relationshipswith tobacco use that require attention from policymakers andresearchers alike.
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