Attributable Risk from Exposure to Second-hand Smoke in Korean Adults in 2009

摘要

Background: The disease burden from exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) has been estimated in various region-specific studies. During the last decade, a large number of studies about the disease burden from active smoke have been conducted in Republic of Korea, but few concerned the impact of SHS. Aims: We estimated the number of deaths attributable to exposure to SHS in Korean adults from lung cancer and ischemic heart disease (IHD) in 2009. Methods: The total number of death from diseases was obtained from The Cause of Death Statistics, 2009. We estimated the SHS-attributable fraction using the data of Community Health Survey, 2009. The number of deaths attributable to SHS was calculated by multiplying the number of deaths in non-smokers and the SHS-attributable fraction. Results: Among total deaths from lung cancer in 2009, 5798 deaths in male (53% of total male deaths from lung cancer) and 283 deaths in female (7% of total female deaths from lung cancer) were attributable to active smoke. For IHD, 1841 male deaths (26% of total male deaths from IHD) and 427 female deaths (7% of total female deaths from IHD) were attributable to active smoke. 261 non-smokers died from lung cancer due to exposure to SHS, with 122 (47%) in men and 139 (53%) in women. 235 deaths in non-smokers from IHD were caused by SHS, with 103 (44%) in men and 132 (56%) in women. The number of deaths caused by SHS in male was estimated to be 2.9% of that caused by active smoke in male. The number of deaths caused by SHS in female was estimated to be 36% of that caused by active smoke in female. Overall, if non-smokers exposed to SHS had the same death rates as non-smokers not exposed to SHS, we would expect to see 496 fewer deaths (5.9% of the deaths caused by active smoke). Conclusions: The results suggest that exposure to SHS posed considerable health problemds for non-smokers, especially for female adult non-smokers in Korea.