Abstract
To evaluate the role of passive smoking in the development of lung cancer among nonsmokers, data were pooled from three large incident case-control interview studies. Ninety-nine lung cancer cases and 736 controls never used any form of tobacco. Overall the adjusted odds ratio for lung cancer among nonsmokers even living with a smoker was 0.8 (95% confidence interval, 0.5–1.3) rising to 1.2 among those exposed for 40 or more years. Persons living with a spouse who smoked cigarettes were at increased risk (adjusted odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.8–2.8). When adjusted for age and gender, there was a significant trend in risk with increasing amounts smoked per week by the spouse (P = 0.05) and with cumulative pack-years of exposure (P = 0.03). This effect was limited to females, especially older women whose husbands were heavy smokers. The elevated risk associated with spouse smoking was restricted to squamous and small cell carcinomas (odds ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.9–9.3), which provides additional evidence linking passive smoking to lung cancer.
Footnotes
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↵1 Supported by the National Cancer Institute, USPHS Contract N-CP9-1025-00 (Texas), N-CP9-1031-00 (New Jersey), and N-CP9-1023-00 (South Louisiana). Work in North Louisiana was supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the American Cancer Society to Dr. Pelayo Correa.
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↵2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at National Cancer Institute, Landow Building, Room 3A06, Bethesda, MD 20892.
- Received April 25, 1986.
- Accepted May 27, 1986.
- ©1986 American Association for Cancer Research.
Volume 46, Issue 9
