Spatial distribution and correlates of smoking in Zambia.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the paper was to investigate the spatial distribution and correlates of tobacco smoking in various regions of Zambia. METHODS: This paper adopts a cross-sectional study design. The study used data from the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey which is a nationwide health survey conducted in all the 10 provinces. A random sample of men and women from 15 920 households was successfully selected and interviewed. All women aged 15-49 and men aged 15-59 who were either permanent residents of the households or visitors present in the households on the night before the survey were eligible to be interviewed. RESULTS: The results show that 8.2% and 11% of Zambians in urban and rural areas smoke, respectively. In urban areas, the risk of being a cigarette smoker was 2.31 (CI: 1.69 to 3.16) and 2.03 (CI: 1.36 to 3.02) times higher for the divorced and separated. However, the risk of being a cigarette smoker was lower for those with some formal education. In rural areas, the risk of being a cigarette smoker was lower for the married (relative risk ratios (RRR): 0.69, CI: 0.55 to 0.86) and those with a formal education. Nevertheless, in rural areas, the risk of being a pipe and other smoker was higher for those who were self-employed (RRR: 8.46, CI: 2.95 to 24.20) and with an occupation (RRR: 2.37, CI: 1.39 to 4.02) but was lower among women. CONCLUSION: Tobacco smoking varies between and within regions as well as provinces. Therefore, interventions to curb smoking should target specific demographic, socioeconomic and cultural factors and how they are spatially distributed.

Correlation of Internal Organ Weights with Body Weight and Body Height in Normal Adult Zambians: A Case Study of Ndola Teaching Hospital.

The objective of the research was to study the correlation of internal organ weights with body weight and length in normal adult Zambians. The study involved 114 (83 males and 31 females) forensic autopsies from Ndola Teaching Hospital done over a period of 12 months. The cases included autopsies of unnatural deaths including road traffic accidents and homicide. Cases where information about age and origin of the person was not available were left out of the study. The age of the decedents ranged from 16 to 85 years. The data was analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient to determine correlation. P values less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. It was observed that the heart, liver, left kidney, right kidney, brain, and left lung were positively correlated to body weight, while only the brain and the left lung were positively correlated to the height in the male population. In the female population, the heart, liver, right kidney, brain, and right lung were positively correlated to the weight of the body, while only the right kidney was positively correlated to the height of the body.