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The Trivandrum Tobacco Study is a population-based study of 0.1 million urban men surveyed 2000-2002 and 0.3 million men from the rural areas surrounding Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) surveyed 2002-2006. Using a structured pre-tested questionnaire, trained social investigators collected data on age, sex, tobacco use (smoking and smokeless), alcohol consumption, blood pressure, adiposity, household possessions, education and occupation. Follow-up for mortality occurs every 5 years by household visits with cause of death ascertained by verbal autopsy. A complete re-survey of 40,000 survivors will be conducted every 5 years.

  • At the baseline survey:
    • About one-half of the urban men had ever smoked cigarettes and about one-third of rural men.
    • One-quarter of men (urban and rural) reported ever being regular drinkers of alcohol.
    • Overweight was more common in urban men than rural men (25% versus 15%).
    • Diabetes was more common in urban men than rural men (11% versus 7%).

Data cleaning and mortality follow-up are ongoing with prospective analyses planned for 2017-18.

The Trivandrum Tobacco Study is funded through core funding to the Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU) from the Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK, with additional support for international studies of smoking from the US NIH Fogarty International Center (grant no 5R01TW005993-02).

Our team

  • Sarah Lewington
    Sarah Lewington

    Professor of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Director of Graduate Studies (Taught courses)

  • Richard Peto
    Richard Peto

    Emeritus Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology

Related research themes