Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · May 1987
Use of smokeless tobacco among children and adolescents in the United States.
Data collected by National Cancer Institute grantees on the use of smokeless tobacco by youth are reported. Self-reports were collected from over 43,000 students from grades 4 through 11 in 16 locations in the United States and 1 location in Canada. Lifetime and recent use of smokeless tobacco are reported by location, sex, grade level, and ethnic group. ⋯ Smokeless tobacco use by Hispanics was comparable to that by whites. Collectively, the data indicate that large numbers of male youths in many areas of the United States are using smokeless tobacco. In light of recent research on the health consequences of using smokeless tobacco, the health of these youth may be endangered.
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Preventive medicine · May 1987
Adolescent smokeless tobacco incidence: relations with other drugs and psychosocial variables.
This article presents data regarding the prevalence of trying smokeless tobacco in a longitudinal sample of 2,714 urban, ethnically diverse adolescent males and females. A predominance of trial use was found in white males in 8th and 9th grades. Also presented is the relation of smokeless tobacco onset to experimentation with other drugs (cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana), cigarette smoking in significant others, self-image as a smoker, risk taking, and smoking refusal self-efficacy. ⋯ Finally, onset was more probable in individuals who had previously tried alcoholic beverages and marijuana, and who reported enjoying taking risks. A multivariate logistic regression analysis retained sex, smoking level, beer and wine use, and risk taking as predictors of smokeless tobacco onset. Apparently, smokeless tobacco is an additional activity in which drug-experimenting male adolescents are likely to participate.
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Preventive medicine · May 1987
Smokeless tobacco use among male adolescents: patterns, correlates, predictors, and the use of other drugs.
Questionnaire data from a sample of 3,023 adolescents indicated that over 60% of boys have tried smokeless tobacco, and 7% use it daily. Daily users reported an average of 5.3 uses per day. Among boys the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use in the past 6 months (18.8%) was higher than that for cigarette use (10.4%). ⋯ Among daily users, the initial rate of use was the best prospective predictor of rate of use at follow-up (r = 0.576). Smokeless tobacco use was related to the use of other drugs, with 83% of male daily users indicating concurrent use of alcohol, marijuana, and/or cigarettes (tau = 0.354, 0.210, and 0.284, respectively). The use of smokeless tobacco was a prospective risk factor for the onset or increased use of cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana.
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Preventive medicine · Mar 1987
Incidence and precursors of hypertension in young adults: the Framingham Offspring Study.
The occurrence of hypertension and its precursors is examined in the Framingham Offspring Study of 2,027 men and 2,267 women ages 20-49 years followed for 8 years. The age-specific prevalence of hypertension was similar at both the first (1971-1975) and the second (1979-1983) examination for both men and women. Prevalence rates were higher among men than among women, and there was a higher rate of hypertension treatment at the second exam, particularly among women, 75% of whom reported being treated for hypertension. ⋯ Changes in body fat over 8 years were related to changes in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Markedly obese women in their fourth decade were seven times more likely to develop hypertension than were lean women of the same age. Weight control deserves a high priority in efforts to prevent hypertension in the general population.
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Preventive medicine · Jan 1987
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialLearner characteristics associated with responses to film and interactive video lessons on smokeless tobacco.
To determine college students' cognitive and affective responses to alternative technologies for presenting a lesson on smokeless tobacco, and to learn if responses to experimental conditions were associated with gender, ethnicity, tobacco-use practices, and the practices of significant others, 162 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either a control group (questionnaire only) or one of two experimental groups. Experimental subjects viewed a videotape or an interactive video version of the lesson and then completed a questionnaire to ascertain knowledge and attitude. Each main effect was significant for knowledge about smokeless tobacco [experimental condition (P less than 0.001); gender (P less than 0.024); and ethnicity (P less than 0.003)]. ⋯ Again, neither gender nor ethnicity interacted significantly with experimental condition, suggesting that attitudes reflect a generalized view toward content irrespective of presentation mode. Responses to both experimental conditions were quite favorable. Items about present and past experiences with tobacco, with the exception of the "Do you smoke?" item, were not associated with total cognitive score or attitude.