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Small Area Estimates Reveal High Cigarette Smoking Prevalence in Low-Income Cities of Los Angeles County

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Abstract

Los Angeles County has among the lowest smoking rates of large urban counties in the USA. Nevertheless, concerning disparities persist as high smoking prevalence is found among certain subgroups. We calculated adult smoking prevalence in the incorporated cities of Los Angeles County in order to identify cities with high smoking prevalence. The prevalence was estimated by a model-based small area estimation method with utilization of three data sources, including the 2007 Los Angeles County Health Survey, the 2000 Census, and the 2007 Los Angeles County Population Estimates and Projection System. Smoking prevalence varied considerably across cities, with a more than fourfold difference between the lowest (5.3%) and the highest prevalence (21.7%). Higher smoking prevalence was generally found in socioeconomically disadvantaged cities. The disparities identified here add another layer of data to our knowledge of the health inequities experienced by low-income urban communities and provide much sought data for local tobacco control. Our study also demonstrates the feasibility of providing credible local estimates of smoking prevalence using the model-based small area estimation method.

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Notes

  1. LA County has 26 HDs and 8 SPAs. Each SPA consists of 1–5 HDs. HDs and SPAs have coincident boundaries.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Yajun Du for helping with the 2000 Census data, Aida Angelescu and Alex Ho for helping with PEPS data and creating the map, and as Linda Aragon and Mark Weber for providing expertise on local tobacco control efforts. We are also indebted to the staff of the Health Assessment Unit for their ongoing work on the LACHS, and to Paul Simon who provided guidance on the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Yan Cui, Susie B. Baldwin, Amy S. Lightstone & Margaret Shih

  2. Center for Health Policy Research, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Hongjian Yu

  3. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Steven Teutsch

Authors
  1. Yan Cui
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  2. Susie B. Baldwin
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  3. Amy S. Lightstone
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  4. Margaret Shih
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  5. Hongjian Yu
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  6. Steven Teutsch
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Correspondence to Yan Cui.

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Cui, Y., Baldwin, S.B., Lightstone, A.S. et al. Small Area Estimates Reveal High Cigarette Smoking Prevalence in Low-Income Cities of Los Angeles County. J Urban Health 89, 397–406 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9615-0

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