The evolution of gendered toxin defense pathways: smoking, ethnicity, and reproduction

Tiffany Alexandra Alvarez

Although age, culture and socioeconomic status all influence the magnitude of gender differences in smoking prevalence, cross-national variation in male and female smoking is often tied to variation in gender equality. Alternatively, the teratogenic effects of neurotoxins in tobacco products place fitness constraints of female reproduction and could account for age and sex patterned smoking behaviors. That is, gendered toxin defense pathways, especially in women of reproductive age, could help explain smoking variation between genders and across the life course. Recent research on cross-national smoking prevalence found that total fertility rate is a negative predictor of female smoking, and menopause a positive predictor, even when controlling for country income and gender inequality in social, political, and economic domains. The association of parity and menopause on individual women's probabilities of smoking, however, has yet to be explored. The intent of the following study is to examine age-specific, gendered, and cultural patterns of tobacco use among a representative sample of the U.S. population. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), I explore the relationship fertility measures have on female smoking prevalence, while controlling for demographic features, comparing premenopausal and postmenopausal women (age 20-40 | 45-65), and considering ethnic differences as main effects. Smoker status was determined via serum cotinine and was analyzed in tandem with questionnaire data spanning the 1999-2010 survey years. The results show that reproductive characteristics are important factors in female smoking decisions, specifically the interaction of parity and partnership, as well as the effect of menopause, and support the hypothesis that drug toxicity influences age and sex differences in tobacco use. Exploring the role of gender and the manner by which gender-specific vulnerabilities are culturally and evolutionarily mediated adds an important dimension to the study of tobacco use, abuse, and control programs. Overall, these findings suggest that smoking vulnerabilities intersect with sex and socio-cultural variables in an additive manner and open the door to future areas of research.

The evolution of gendered toxin defense pathways: smoking, ethnicity, and reproduction

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