Pack year

Pack year

A pack year is a quantification of cigarette smoking.

Definition

A way to measure the amount a person has smoked over a long period of time. It is calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years the person has smoked. For example, 1 pack year is equal to smoking 1 pack per day for 1 year, or 2 packs per day for half a year, and so on. [ http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=306510 National Cancer Institute Definition of Pack Year]

Calculating 'Pack Years'

Number of pack years = (number of cigarettes smoked per day x number of years smoked)/20

For example: a patient who has smoked 15 cigarettes a day for 40 years has a (15x40)/20 = 30 pack year smoking history. (1 pack has 20 cigarettes).

A pack-year is smoking 20 cigarettes a day for one year. If someone has smoked ten cigarettes a day for six years theywould have a three pack-year history. Someone who has smoked forty cigarettes daily for twenty years has a forty pack-year history.

ignificance and Usage

Quantification of pack years smoked is important in clinical care where degree of tobacco exposure is closely correlated to risk of disease.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • pack-year — n. A measure of cigarette consumption equivalent to smoking one pack a day for a year. Also: pack year. Example Citations: This study analyzed data on 56,042 women who averaged about 37 years old and were free of breast cancer. Nearly half of the …   New words

  • pack year — A way to measure the amount a person has smoked over a long period of time. It is calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years the person has smoked. For example, 1 pack year is equal to… …   English dictionary of cancer terms

  • pack year —    a unit of quantity for cigarettes used in medicine to measure a patient s smoking history. One pack year is the equivalent of smoking one 20 cigarette pack per day for one year, that is, a total of 7300 cigarettes …   Dictionary of units of measurement

  • Pack year — Das Packungsjahr, englisch pack year (py), ist die Einheit, in welcher in statistischen oder medizinischen Veröffentlichungen die inhalierte Rauch Dosis eines Zigaretten Rauchers beschrieben wird. Daraus lässt sich die Anzahl der konsumierten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pack-years — Das Packungsjahr, englisch pack year (py), ist die Einheit, in welcher in statistischen oder medizinischen Veröffentlichungen die inhalierte Rauch Dosis eines Zigaretten Rauchers beschrieben wird. Daraus lässt sich die Anzahl der konsumierten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pack years — Das Packungsjahr, englisch pack year (py), ist die Einheit, in welcher in statistischen oder medizinischen Veröffentlichungen die inhalierte Rauch Dosis eines Zigaretten Rauchers beschrieben wird. Daraus lässt sich die Anzahl der konsumierten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pack — pack1 [pak] n. [ME pakke < MDu pak < MFl pac: term carried throughout Europe via the Low Countries wool trade (as in Fr pacque, It pacco, Ir pac, ML paccus)] 1. a large bundle of things wrapped or tied up for carrying, as on the back of a… …   English World dictionary

  • Year of the cat — est un album d Al Stewart sorti en 1976. Il comprend notamment le morceau Year of the Cat, co écrit avec Peter Wood. Titres de l album Lord Grenville – 5:02 On the Border – 3:23 Midas Shadow – 3:16 Sand in Your Shoes – 3:04 If it Doesn t Come… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Year of the Cat — est un album d Al Stewart sorti en 1976. Il comprend notamment le morceau Year of the Cat, co écrit avec Peter Wood. Titres de l album Lord Grenville – 5:02 On the Border – 3:23 Midas Shadow – 3:16 Sand in Your Shoes – 3:04 If it Doesn t Come… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Pack (canine) — A pack of canines is a group of canines (Canidae) of the same kind. Not all Canidae form packs and social behaviour within packs varies with the species. Examples African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) live and hunt in packs. Males assist in raising… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”