Introduction:

Tobacco smoking constitutes one of the most serious public health problems worldwide, and it has been defined as the great silent epidemic of the 20th century.

Objective:

To determine the frequency of tobacco smoking and its relationship with some atherosclerotic risk factors in middle-aged women.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out including 301 women aging 40 to 59 years old from April 19 University Polyclinic. Lifestyle-related clinical variables were studied such as blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, and tobacco smoking.

Results:

The frequency of tobacco smoking was high in this group of middle-aged women (56.5%), and an average beginning at 19.6 years of age. The predominating risk factors were high blood pressure and overweight, we found that high frequency of women who smoke are hypertensive. 25.9% of those who smoke had three associated risk factors.

Conclusions:

Tobacco smoking continues to be a health problem in middle-aged women, and it is associated with other risk factors, such as high blood pressure and overweight. Reducing the tobacco smoking habit is a challenge for public health in Cuba.

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