Examining the influence of global smoking prevalence on stroke mortality: insights from 27 countries across income strata

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 857
• Main Authors: Abeysekera, Isuri, De Silva, Roshinie, Silva, Disuri, Piumika, Lakindu, Jayathilaka, Ruwan, Rajamanthri, Lochana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19-03-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Cardiovascular disease; Cigarette smoking; Cigarettes; Cross-Sectional Studies; Death; Developing Countries; Drug addiction; Global death rate; Global smoking prevalence; Health risks; Humans; Hypertension; Income; Income groups; Ischemia; Low income areas; Mortality; Patient outcomes; Polynomials; Prevalence; Prevention; Public health; Regression analysis; Regression models; Risk factors; Risk reduction; Smoking; Smoking - epidemiology; Smoking cessation programs; Statistical analysis; Stroke; Stroke (Disease); Stroke - epidemiology; Stroke death rates; Stroke incidence; Time series; Tobacco Smoking; Variables; Sri Lanka; Bangladesh; Papua New Guinea; Mongolia; Bhutan; Singapore; Japan; Uzbekistan; Kuwait; Kenya; Stroke incidence; Income groups; Global death rate; Stroke death rates; Global smoking prevalence
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18250-1

This study investigates the influence of Global Smoking Prevalence (GSP) on Stroke Death Rates (SDR) across 27 countries categorized into High-Income Countries (HIC), Upper Middle-Income Countries (UMIC), Lower Middle-Income Countries (LMIC), and Low-Income Countries (LIC).
Analysing data from two distinct periods (1990-1999 and 2010-2019), countries exhibiting an increased SDR were selected. The study uses a polynomial regression model, treating income groups as cross-sectional and years as time series data.
Results from the regression model reveal that 17 countries observed a significant impact of GSP on SDR, with only Turkey, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste resulting in negative values. However, the study emphasises that out of all 27 countries, the highest occurrence of the impact of GSP on SDR has been reported in the LMIC stratum for the period under review.
It is evident that GSP affects the risk of incidence of stroke death, specifically in the LMIC stratum. Furthermore, it has been identified that GSP is a major preventable risk factor affecting global mortality. To mitigate the risk of stroke death attributable to smoking prevalence, necessary preventive steps should be adopted to encourage smoking cessation, and essential policies should be implemented to reduce the burden of SDR.