Mortality in Twins in Relation to Smoking Habits and Alcohol Problems

Results are presented from an 11-year study on 9,000 pairs of twins. On a nonpair basis, a significant hypermortality was related to smoking in men & women. The hypermortality was mainly due to coronoary heart disease, lung cancer, suicides, & accidents. Data imply that part of the hypermortality among smokers is not due to smoking per se, but to factors associated with smoking. (12 refs)