Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2021
Identifying emerging predictors for adolescent electronic nicotine delivery systems use: A machine learning analysis of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.
Intervention strategies to prevent adolescents from using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) should be based on robust predictors of ENDS use that may differ from predictors of conventional cigarette use. Literature points to the need for uncovering emerging predictors of ENDS use. This study identified emerging predictors of adolescent ENDS use using machine learning (ML) techniques. ⋯ ML models appear to be a promising method to identify unique population-level predictors for U. S. adolescent ENDS use behaviors. More research is warranted to investigate emerging predictors of ENDS use and experimentally examine the mechanism by which these emerging predictors affect ENDS use behavior across different spectrum of populations.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2021
Anticipated mental health consequences of coronavirus in a nationally-representative sample: Context, coverage, and economic consequences.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have long-term consequences due to social and economic disruption. This study aimed to understand the contextual, media, and economic factors associated with anticipated mental health consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic among Americans. A nationally representative survey of 1001 respondents was conducted in April 2020. ⋯ Living in a state with a greater COVID-19 death rate (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.10, 2.72) and anticipating long-term financial difficulties (OR 2.98; 95% CI 1.93, 4.60) were both associated with greater likelihood of anticipated mental health consequences. Those whose primary news source was television, as opposed to print or online, were almost 50% less likely to anticipate mental health challenges (OR 0.52 CI 0.33, 0.81), while those who reported spending two or more hours daily on COVID-19 news were 90% more likely (OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.27, 2.85). Aspects of community health, media consumption, and economic impacts influence anticipated poor mental health from the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting each domain is relevant to interventions to address the consequences.