RESUMO
Background: The association between Lung Cancer and smoking is well documented. However there is less information about the estimation of its attributable fraction and population burden. Aim: To estímate the attributable risk and population attributable risk of smoking among Lung Cancer patients attended in Public Health Services at Santiago. Material and methods: A case control study matched by age was carried out. Crude and adjusted attributable and population attributable risks were estimated, controlling for potential confounders and interaction variables. Results: Mean age for cases was 63 years for women and 67 years for men. Lung Cancer patients had a higher smoking prevalence than controls (64.5 percent and 39.7 percent respectively among women; 95.8 and 67.1 respectively among men p <0.01). Heavy smoker proportion was 4 times higher among patients that smoked 5 to 10 years more (women and men respectively, p <0.01) and 3 times more cigarettes per day (p <0.01). Attributable risk for women was 64.4 percent and 90.4 percent for men. Population attributable fraction was 41.9 percent and 86.3 percent for women and men, respectively. Projecting these estimates to the Chilean population, approximately 1975 new cases per year of Lung Cancer caused by smoking will be diagnosed. Conclusions: Attributable risks of smoking for Lung Cancer are high and significant, even when they are adjusted by confounding variables.