No description available.

Background/objective: Environmental and dietary exposures alter the levels of homocysteine in the human body; little is known about the effect of smoking status on homocysteine levels. This study aimed to examine the effect of smoking status on homocysteine levels and to determine if the association is modified by estradiol and cholesterol. Methods: National representative data (n=4,580) were obtained for adults aged ≥20 years. The outcome was homocysteine and exposure was smoking status, categorized as current, former or never smoker. Current smoker defined as a person who smoked ≥100 cigarettes in their lifetime and at least once in the last month; former smoker- one who had smoked ≥100 cigarettes and had quit smoking at the time of the interview; never smoker- adult who never smoked cigarettes in their lifetime. General linear models (GLM) were used to examine the associations between smoking status and homocysteine levels; while assessing the impact of estradiol and cholesterol. Estradiol was stratified as low (/ml), normal (10-40 pg/mL), and high (>40 pg/ml). Cholesterol- stratified as normal (<200mg/dl) or high (≥200mg/dl). Results: Adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, education, and income level, smoking status was associated with the levels of serum homocysteine using unadjusted GLM (p0.05). Adjusting for multiple comparisons using Tukey’s method, there were statistically significant differences between former smokers and never smokers (p Conclusion: Homocysteine levels were found to vary among smoking strata. Statistically significant differences exist between former smokers and never smokers. Former smokers may be more prone to having risk factors of elevated homocysteine levels compared to never and current smokers, putting them at risk of cerebrovascular accidents and acute coronary syndromes. These findings suggest that it is vital for people not to initiate smoking. Keywords: Smoking, Homocysteine, Sex hormones, Estradiol, Cholesterol.

Bupropion (BUP) is an efficacious pharmacologic aid for individuals attempting to quit tobacco smoking (Wilkes., 2008), yet little is known about the effects of BUP on neural responses to either smoking cues (SC) or affective cues (AC), stimuli that are known to promote smoking and relapse to smoking for those attempting to quit. In fact, only one published study has assessed BUP’s effects on neuroelectrical event-related responses (ERPs) to SC or AC (Versace, Stevens, Robinson, Cui, Deweese, Engelmann, et al., 2019), and this study did not detect any neural effects of BUP, relative to placebo. It is important to note that Versace et al. (2019) study’s smokers were instructed to focus their attention solely on large color pictures of SC or AC that were presented for several seconds, something that may differ from conditions in which BUP might alter brain responses to SC. In contrast, several studies have assessed the effects of BUP on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-assessed brain activity, with several finding that BUP enhanced activation of the nucleus accumbens during the anticipation of a brief (140-460ms) monetary target (Ikeda et al., 2019) and in the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, right caudate, and bilateral precuneus during AC presentation (Robertson et al 2007), while several others found reductions in activation in the left ventral striatum, right medial orbitofrontal cortex, and bilateral anterior cingulate cortex during presentation of SC (Culbertson et al., 2011), and reductions in the activation of right orbitofrontal cortex, left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, right ventromedial prefrontal cortex, right anterior cingulate cortex, right inferior frontal cortex, right amygdala/parahippocampal area, right caudate, right fusiform gyrus, and left posterior cingulate during AC presentation (Robertson et al 2007). The inconsistencies across these studies may reflect underlying effects of the task used to assess the participant (i.e., context of the task). Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the effects of BUP SC and AC on brain reactivity depend on assessment context and task demands. Few studies have assessed the effects of BUP on brain responses to SC and AC when they are briefly presented distractors, as opposed to the primary focus of sustained attention. This study demonstrates the importance of task context for SC and AC presentation to detect the effects of BUP. By neglecting context-specific effect, the field is missing measurable targets for drug efficacy. This is the 1st study to find an BUP induced LPP reduction. The data is obtained from smokers who were randomly assigned to a BUP (n=24) group or a placebo group (n=66) and assessed prior to and after 14 days on BUP or PLA capsules while still smoking at their typical rate.

Background: Previous studies provided inconsistent associations of smoking, stroke, and serious psychological distress (SPD) with epilepsy while urban-rural differences in the associations of risk factors with epilepsy are not well documented. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the associations of lifestyle, health conditions, and SPD with epilepsy and to examine whether the associations differ between urban and rural areas. Patients and Methods: A total of 604 adults with epilepsy and 42416 controls were selected from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey. Weighted univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the associations of potential factors (behavioral factors, SPD, social factors and health conditions) with epilepsy. The odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Results: The overall prevalence of epilepsy was 1.3% and the prevalence was higher in urban area than rural area (1.4 vs. 1.1%). The prevalence of SPD was 11% in cases and 4% in controls, respectively. The percentage of stroke was higher in cases than in controls (9% vs. 2%). After adjusting for other factors using multiple logistic regression, current smoking, stroke, cancer, SPD and living in urban were positively significantly associated with epilepsy (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.28 - 2.38; OR = 4.81, 95% CI = 3.13 - 7.41; OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.12 - 2.06; OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.39 - 2.92, and OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.08 - 1.81, respectively); while binge drinking was negatively associated with epilepsy (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.43 - 0.99). Stratified by residence, in the urban area, current smoking and race were only associated with epilepsy. Stroke and SPD showed stronger association with epilepsy in the rural area (OR = 7.63, 95% CI = 3.68 - 15.8, and OR = 3.14, 95% CI = 1.52 - 6.47, respectively) comparing with urban region (OR = 4.51, 95% CI = 2.79 - 7.28 and OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.27 - 2.86, respectively). Conclusions: Smoking, stroke, and SPD were associated with epilepsy; while the associations differed between urban and rural areas.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differential association of cigarette smoking with energy balance in African-American and white premenopausal women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of energy balance, weight, and smoking in women. SUBJECT: A total of 374 women: 191 African-American (mean age = 29.8 ± 6.5y) and 183 white women (mean age = 28.9 ± 7.1 y). MEASUREMENTS: Weight, cigarette smoking habits, resting energy expenditure, dietary intake, and physical activity. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in dietary intake by race or smoking status. The model for physical activity was significant (P = 0.0004), with body mass index (BMI) having the largest effect on activity (P<0.001). Smoking status was related to activity, with the heaviest smokers reporting more activity than nonsmokers (P= 0.008) or light smokers (P= 0.028). The model for resting energy expenditure (REE) was significant (P<0.0001), with the largest again being BMI (P<0.001). There was also an interaction between ethnicity and smoking status (P<0.0001) such that African-American nonsmokers and light smokers tended to have lower REE than several other groups, most often the African-American moderate heavy smokers. The model for BMI was significant (P<0.0001) with an interaction for ethnicity and smoking status (P = 0.0009). African-American nonsmokers and light smokers had significantly higher BMIs than most of the other groups. CONCLUSION: African-American women who were the heaviest smokers had a lower adjusted BMI than the heaviest smoking white women. This effect, at least partially, may be related to an increased REE in the African-American smoking women. While energy intake did not appear to be important in this relationship, energy expended in physical activity appeared to be increased with smoking, as was REE.

This study investigated the influence of tobacco use on postoperative narcotic requirements of female patients following pelvic surgery. The history of tobacco use was taken by telephone survey, and the amount of postoperative narcotic used was obtained from a retrospective review of the patients’ hospital charts. Postoperative narcotic use for patients who never smoked was 10.9 mg/12 hr (n = 83, S.E. = 0.5), for former smokers was 13.0 mg/12 hr (n = 33, S.E. = 0.8) and for current smokers was 13.1 mg/12 hr (n = 53, S.E. = 0.7). Patients who never smoked used significantly less narcotic than former smokers (p =.02) or current smokers (p =.007). There was no difference between current and former smokers. Patients who have smoked required more narcotic for postoperative pain control. This effect was equally strong for former as for current smokers.

Background & objectives: The perception of genetic knowledge is useful for improving the heath behaviour change against developing cancers. However, no studies have investigated the perception of genetic knowledge on the development of lung cancer. The aim of this study was to examine demographic and lifestyle factors of the perception of genetic knowledge on the development of lung cancer. Methods: Data on 2,295 US adults (739 had the perception of genetic knowledge) were taken from the 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate potential factors of the perception of genetic knowledge of lung cancer. Results: Participants aged ≥65 yr were more likely to have the perception of genetic knowledge than those aged 18-44 yr (OR=1.77, 95% CI=1.27-2.46). Higher education was associated with a greater perception of genetic knowledge (OR=1.47, 95% CI=1.16-1.87). Subjects with correct smoking attitude were more than three times more likely to have the perception of genetic knowledge (OR=3.15, 95% CI=2.10-4.72). Subjects with exercise were at an increased likelihood of having the perception of genetic knowledge than those without exercise (OR=1.63, 95% CI=1.24-2.13). Interpretation & conclusions: Positive associations were observed between education and lifestyle factors and the perception of genetic knowledge on the development of lung cancer among US adults. Strategies developed to improve the perception of genetic knowledge of lung cancer may target on individuals who are young, less educated, and lack correct smoking attitude or exercise.

The aim is to study the trends of cigarette smoking from 2001 to 2012 using a California representative sample in the US. Data was taken from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) from 2001 to 2012, which is a population-based, biennial, random digit-dial telephone survey of the non-institutionalized population. The CHIS is the largest telephone survey in California and the largest state health survey in the US. 282,931 adults (n = 184,454 with age 18–60 and n = 98,477 with age >60) were included in the analysis. Data were weighted to be representative and adjusted for potential covariance and non-response biases. During 2001–2012, the prevalence of current smoking decreased from 18.86 to 15.4 % among adults age 18–60 (β = −0.8, p = 0.0041). As for adults age >60, the prevalence of current smoking trend decreased with variations, started from 9.66 % in 2001, slightly increased to 9.74 % in 2003, but then gradually decreased, falling to 8.18 % in 2012. In 2012, there was a 14 % reduction of daily smoking adults age 18–60 (OR 0.84, 95 % CI 0.76–0.93, p = 0.0006) compared to 2001, while no significant reduction of daily smoking was observed for those age >60. The reductions of smoking prevalence for adults younger than 60 are encouraging. However, there is a concern for smoking cessation rates among those older than 60 years of age, particularly for African Americans.

The findings of association between alcohol consumption and arthritis are mixed while little is known about age differences in the associations of mental health and behavioral factors with arthritis. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of arthritis among US adults using data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. In total, 8,229 adults with arthritis and 26,256 controls were selected from the adult respondents. Weighted univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals. The overall prevalence of arthritis was 22.1 %. The prevalence increased with age (6.8, 29.6, and 47.9 % for 18-49, 50-64, and 65+ years of age, respectively). The prevalence of mental problems was higher in cases than controls [4 vs. 1 % for serious psychological distress (SPD), 29 vs. 16 % for anxiety, and 26 vs. 11 % for depression, respectively]. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that being female, older age, smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, SPD, depression, and anxiety were positively associated with arthritis. Stratified by age, SPD was associated with arthritis only in young adults (18-49 years old) while the ORs of anxiety and depression with arthritis decreased as age increased. Alcohol consumption revealed stronger associations in middle-aged adults and elderly. Using a large nationally representative sample in the USA, alcohol consumption, smoking, SPD, anxiety, and depression were associated with arthritis, and the associations varied across different age groups.

Objectives: The goal of this investigation was to examine the prevalence of different types of intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy, as well as the association between both physical and psychological IPV and negative health behaviors, including smoking, other substance use, inadequate prenatal care utilization, and nutrition, in a rural sample. Methods: 104 southern Appalachian women, primarily Caucasian and lower SES, completed a pregnancy interview focused on IPV (CTS2) and health behaviors. Medical records were also reviewed. Results: 81% of participants reported some type of IPV during the current pregnancy, with 28% reporting physical IPV, and 20% reporting sexual violence. More than half were current smokers. Physical IPV during pregnancy was associated with significantly increased rates of pregnancy smoking (including decreased rates of quitting and reducing), increased rates of alcohol, marijuana, and harder illicit drug use around the time of conception, and later entry into prenatal care. The experience of psychological IPV during pregnancy was associated with a significantly decreased likelihood of quitting or reducing smoking during pregnancy, an increased rate of alcohol use around the time of conception, and an increased rate of pre-pregnancy obesity. Conclusions: In this sample, pregnancy IPV and smoking occurred at rates well above national averages. Additionally, while physical IPV during pregnancy was associated with several negative pregnancy health behaviors, the experience of psychological IPV, even in the absence of physical IPV, also placed women at increased risk for negative health behaviors, all of which have been linked to poor pregnancy and newborn outcomes.