Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jan 2023
Digital screen time and suicidality during high school: How important is cyberbullying? A mediation analysis using the youth risk behavioral surveillance survey, 2011-2019.
Elevated digital screen time (i.e., 2+ hours per day) is associated with suicidal ideations, planning, and attempts during adolescence. Recent studies suggest quality, rather than duration, of digital screen time is most impactful on adolescent mental health. We investigate the role of cyberbullying victimization on the relationship between elevated digital screen time and risk factors for completed suicide. ⋯ Similar mediating effects were observed in models stratified by sex. Findings reinforce prior research demonstrating that the quality of leisure, digital media strongly influences the relationship between digital screen time and mental health during adolescence. Findings need replication via longitudinal designs.
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Preventive medicine · Jan 2023
Modeling cigarette smoking disparities between people with and without serious psychological distress in the US, 1997-2100.
Cigarette smoking rates are significantly higher among people with serious psychological distress (SPD) compared to the general population. US simulation models that project future smoking disparities by SPD status could inform policy interventions, but have not been developed. We calibrated two compartmental models to the National Health Interview Survey 1997-2018 for populations with and without SPD, calculating smoking prevalence, mortality, and life-years lost by SPD status under different scenarios from 2023 to 2100. ⋯ Preventing smoking initiation could avert up to 18% of these deaths, while improving smoking cessation could avert up to 82%. Smoking-related disparities for people with SPD will persist unless a shift in tobacco control substantially improves cessation and prevents initiation in this subpopulation. Smoking disparities by SPD may widen in relative but narrow in absolute terms, so both perspectives should be evaluated.
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Preventive medicine · Jan 2023
Sense of control as a mediator of the association between social capital and health inequality in China.
Social capital was shown to be associated with health. However, less is known about the pathways of the association and whether the mediating effect of the pathways varies across different income groups. Using adults (≥18 years) data from the 2010 Chinese General Social Survey (N = 3265), we examined the mediating effect of sense of control between social capital and health and whether income groups moderated the mediating effect in China. ⋯ Moderated mediation analysis further showed that sense of control mediated the association between frequency of socializing and health in all income groups, with the mediating effect decreasing when income increased (β (95% CI) from Q1 to Q5: 0.026 (0.015, 0.040); 0.022 (0.012, 0.036); 0.018 (0.009, 0.030); 0.013 (0.005, 0.024); 0.008 (0.000, 0.018)). Moderated mediation analysis also showed the same patterns for the mediating effect of sense of control on the association between trust and health and reciprocity and health. Our study suggested that employing social capital to promote sense of control could not only be beneficial for people's health but also be helpful to narrow the health gap on the income gradient.
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Nationally, between 2011 and 2019, suicide was the second leading cause of injury death, and about half of all suicides were firearm related. An overlooked factor connecting firearms and suicide is lead exposure. Lead bullets and primers are used throughout the US and pose danger to adults and children. ⋯ Lead was a predictor of all suicide types. Our study appears to be the first to show the established firearm suicide relationships holds within municipalities in a single state. We provide evidence concerning the link between lead exposure and suicide, particularly from firearms, and provide a glimpse into the relationship between firearm prevalence and elevated blood lead levels.
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Preventive medicine · Jan 2023
Examining beliefs and information-seeking behaviors of young adults aged 20-39 to help inform cancer prevention communication.
Successfully reaching young adults with cancer early detection information is urgently important given the rising rates of cancer in this age group. We sought to describe to describe the 'when, who, where, what and how' of young adult cancer information seeking and how it differs from that of older participants. We analyzed information seeking and beliefs among young adult (aged 20-39 years) and middle aged and older (aged 40-75 years) respondents to the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5, cycle 4 (N = 2784). ⋯ They were more trusting of cancer information from government organizations than older adults (p = .019). Communicators may be able to better persuade young adults with early detection information framed around cherished values. Though respondents of all ages were most likely to choose protecting family as their top value, young adults valued happiness over safeguarding their health more than middle aged and older adults.