Smoking and tobacco
Advice on health categories
The coding for studies on smoking and tobacco will depend on the nature of the research.
Use Mental Health for studies of tobacco and nicotine addiction and associated behavioural problems.
Only use the following standardised breakdown of health categories and percentages for general studies on smoking and tobacco where there is no other indication of disease area:
| Health Category | Percentage |
| Cancer and neoplasms | 25 |
| Cardiovascular | 25 |
| Respiratory | 25 |
| Stroke | 25 |
Advice on research activities
Smoking is considered a risk factor for other diseases. Therefore, interventions to reduce smoking should be coded as 3 Prevention, even if the person already smokes. Use 5 Treatment Development or 6 Treatment Evaluation for studies focussed on treatment of an existing smoking-related disease and in cases of secondary prevention.
Additional guidance on differentiating secondary and primary prevention and distinguishing between preventative and treatment interventions are also available.
Main inclusion criteria
Includes both ischaemic stroke (caused by blood clots) and haemorrhagic stroke (caused by cerebral/intercranial haemorrhage).
Advice on health categories
When coding research involving circulation or blood flow, only studies investigating blood flow to the brain should be coded as Stroke.
While general blood circulation and cardiovascular disease research should be coded as Cardiovascular, research involving blood flow to brain should be coded as Stroke. Therefore haemorrhagic stroke will generally be coded as 100% Stroke unless there is a clear pre-existing condition, in which case the guidance on sequelae should be followed:
e.g. Research on stroke resulting from brain haemorrhage should be coded as 100% Stroke.
e.g. Research on stroke as the direct result of pre-existing circulatory disorder should be coded as 50% Cardiovascular and 50% Stroke.
While general studies of clotting and thromboses should be coded as Blood, research involving blood flow to brain should be coded as Stroke. Therefore ischaemic stroke will generally be coded as 100% Stroke unless there is a clear pre-existing condition, in which case the guidance on sequelae should be followed:
e.g. Research on stroke resulting from thrombosis should be coded as 100% Stroke.
e.g. Research on stroke as the direct result of pre-existing clotting disorder should be coded as 50% Blood and 50% Stroke.
Similarly, research on symptoms of stroke on stroke survivors should also be coded as Stroke. However, the specific symptoms (e.g. behavioural changes, mobility issues, further circulatory problems) and interventions used to treat them may be applicable to other health categories too. Use the guidance on case studies and/or sequelae to assess whether alternative or additional coding is required.
Official terminology
|
Full name of category |
Short name | Unique ID |
| Stroke | Stroke |
HRCS_HC_19STR |
Related external links
Main inclusion criteria
Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), respiratory diseases and normal development and function of the respiratory system.
Advice on health categories
Includes studies of the upper and lower respiratory tract, including nasal cavity, sinuses, larynx, vocal cords, trachea and lungs. Studies of the elements of the throat shared with the digestive system (e.g. pharynx and epiglottis) may be coded as Oral and Gastrointestinal depending on the context of the research.
Studies of allergies in asthma sufferers can be coded as 50% Inflammatory and Immune System for allergies and 50% Respiratory for asthma.
Excludes pulmonary hypertension which should be coded as Cardiovascular.
Excludes respiratory infections which should be coded as Infection.
Note there is specific guidance for coding research related to smoking, tobacco and smoking-related diseases.
Official terminology
|
Full name of category |
Short Name | Unique ID |
| Respiratory | Respiratory |
HRCS_HC_17RES |
Related external links
Main inclusion criteria
Coronary heart disease, diseases of the vasculature and circulation including the lymphatic system, and normal development and function of the cardiovascular system.
Advice on health categories
Includes general circulation research, vasculitis and general angiogenesis studies. Includes atherosclerosis and pulmonary hypertension. Includes congenital heart disorders. Excludes studies investigating blood flow to the brain which should be coded as Stroke. Excludes angiogenesis studies which relate to a diseased state (e.g. development of anti-angiogenic drugs to inhibit tumour growth which would be coded as Cancer).
Official terminology
| Full name of category | Short name | Unique ID |
| Cardiovascular | Cardio | HRCS_HC_03CAR |
Related external links
Main inclusion criteria
All types of neoplasms, including benign, potentially malignant, malignant (cancer) and canerous growths. This includes leukaemia and mesothelioma.
Advice on health categories
Do not code to the site of the cancer. However if the research involves studying a condition that predisposes to cancer then it may be appropriate to code for this condition as well.
e.g. The role of Barrett’s oesophagus in cancer would be 50% Oral and Gastrointestinal and 50% Cancer.
Similarly research on pathogens associated with the development of cancer should be coded as 50% Cancer and 50% Infection.
Studies of the normal role of oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes, and cell cycle checkpoints in a non diseased cell should be coded as 50% Generic Health Relevance and 50% Cancer.
Excludes general studies of angiogenesis which should be coded as Cardiovascular. However the development of anti-angiogenic drugs to inhibit tumour growth would be coded as Cancer.
Excludes normal studies of cell cycle and DNA replication and repair which should be coded as Generic.
Official terminology
|
Full name of category |
Short name | Unique ID |
| Cancer | Cancer |
HRCS_HC_02CAN |
Related external links
International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10 v2016) – Chapter II: Neoplasms (C00-D48)