Individual and Community Predictors of Maternal Smoking in the City of Baltimore: What Can Be Learned From a Predominantly Minority Case Controlled Study?

Abstract

This case control study of 1,000 birth certificates examined what individual and community factors predicted maternal smoking in Baltimore, Maryland. Conditional multinomial logistic regression results indicated women who were White were more likely to start smoking at a young age, but as they got older, they were less likely to smoke. Minority women were more likely to start smoking at a later age. Also, White women were more likely to smoke as the rate of poverty increased, while for minority women, smoking was unrelated to whether they lived in higher or lower poverty areas. Medical assistance status, community education level, and crime rate were not found to be related to smoking status.

Keywords:

• case control
• Geographical Information Systems
• maternal smoking
• birth certificate

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Vital Statistics Administration, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain data were provided by the Vital Statistics Administration, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, Maryland. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene disclaims responsibility for any analyses, interpretations, or conclusions.