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Surgeon General's Report tobacco). However, this information may not be fully An analysis of the data from the Coronary valid, resulting in misclassification of exposure to ciga- Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults Study rette smoking. A previous report of the Surgeon Gen- (CARDIA) showed that there were higher rates of eral reviewed the classification of cigarette smoking misclassification in terms of self-reported nonsmok- status and the consequences of misclassification ers who had serum cotinine levels of at least 14 ng/ (USDHHS 1990). mL among African Americans (5.7 percent) than Misclassification of smoking information merits among non-Hispanic whites (2.8 percent) (Wagen- consideration in investigating tobacco use among knecht et al. 1992). Alternative explanations for racial/ethnic populations, because of the potential for underreporting, such as more efficient smoking and bias in comparing the effects of smoking across racial/ differences in cotinine metabolism, could not be ethnic groups. To date, such bias has not been identi- excluded. fied, although several studies show that Hispanics may Two additional studies examined the relation- underreport cigarette smoking. In a population-based ship between ancestry of origin and levels of biochemi- survey in New Mexico, Coultas and colleagues (1988) cal markers in smokers. In a study of participants in compared self-reports of smoking against salivary CARDIA, African American smokers demonstrated cotinine level (a product of nicotine that has been used higher cotinine levels than non-Hispanic white smok- as a measure of exposure to nicotine) and end-tidal car- ers after controlling for several dimensions of cigarette- bon monoxide concentration. Based on the question- smoking behavior (Wagenknecht et al. 1990). Lactose naire results, the age-standardized prevalence rates of intolerance, which elevates breath hydrogen concen- current smoking were 30.9 and 27.1 percent for His- tration, may increase the apparent level of expired air panic men and women, respectively. After adjusting carbon monoxide, a readily measured marker of ac- for cotinine and carbon monoxide levels, these percent- tive smoking (McNeill et al. 1990). Lactose intolerance ages were 39.1 and 33.2. The rate of misclassification is common in a number of racial/ethnic groups, in- was greater in self-reported former smokers than in cluding Asian Americans and African Americans. (b) never smokers, but self-reported never smokers also / had levels of cotintine and carbon monoxide indica- tive of active smoking. Classification of Race/Ethnicity Using information from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES), Pérez- The data included in this chapter are derived Stable and colleagues (1992) documented the from diverse sources, including vital statistics, cancer misclassification of smoking status through compari- registries, and epidemiological studies on smoking. Race/ethnicity has been classified in these studies us- sons of self-reports with serum cotinine levels. Among 65 Mexican American former smokers participating in ing various techniques, including designation on death the HHANES in 1982 through 1983, 7 (10.8 percent) certificate, classification according to cancer registry had a cotinine level indicative of active smoking; protocols, self-reports, birthplace, language use, and among 124 reported never smokers, 5 (4 percent) were surname. The validity of each of these approaches is probably active smokers based on their cotinine lev- undoubtedly imperfect; moreover, validity varies els. In a number of surveys, Hispanics, particularly across regions and over time. However, comprehen- Latino groups in the southwestern and western United sive assessments of the validity of racial/ethnic mi- States, have been found to smoke about one-half pack nority classification in various types of health data have not been reported. of cigarettes per day, compared with non-Hispanic The limited information available indicates some whites who typically report smoking one pack per day potential for misclassification. For example, Frost (Coultas et al. 1994). Pérez-Stable and colleagues (1992) and colleagues (1992) compared the classification of used data from 547 Mexican American participants in "Native American," as recorded by the Seattle-Puget the HHANES to examine underreporting of cigarette Sound registry of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and consumption using the ratio of serum cotinine to End Results (SEER) Program against an Indian Health self-reports of the number of cigarettes smoked per Service (IHS) registry of patients eligible for services. day as the "gold standard." This study found that A substantial portion of patients with invasive cancer among Mexican Americans, 20.4 percent of men in the IHS registry were not similarly classified and 24.7 percent of women who were self-reported by the Seattle-Puget Sound cancer registry. Similarly, smokers underreported smoking between one and an injury registry for the state of Oregon under- nine cigarettes per day. Self-reported Mexican Ameri- counted those with injuries (Sugarman et al. can smokers who reported smoking greater numbers 1993). Using data from the National Longitudinal of cigarettes per day underreported less frequently. Mortality Study, Sorlie and colleagues (1992) compared demographic characteristics reported on the CPS of the 186 Chapter 3