American journal of preventive medicine
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Intervention studies to reduce cigarette sales to minors have been conducted primarily in suburban settings. Little is known about sociocultural factors influencing cigarette sales to minors in urban settings. This study sought to determine sociodemographic and cultural factors that may play a role in cigarette sales and in efforts to reduce sales to minors in urban areas. ⋯ Youth-oriented cigarette advertising is a prevalent environmental risk for urban youth. Differences between Asian and African-American merchants suggest socioethnic factors may be an influential component of illegal sales and educational campaigns to reduce smoking among minors.
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Mammography screening reduces mortality by 25% to 30% in women aged 50 to 69. Because mammography screening is often used less frequently than the recommended guidelines, many descriptive and intervention studies are underway to increase use of this important screening tool. Assessment of intervention effect is dependent on valid measurement of mammography use. Although several studies have shown a close correspondence between self-report and medical records, most had few minority participants. ⋯ Self-report alone may not provide accurate rates of mammography compliance. Further research is necessary with ethnic and low-income women.
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Access to firearms and other weapons has been cited as an important factor contributing to the rise in violence-related injury among adolescents in the United States. ⋯ Among adolescents, weapon-carrying is associated with increased involvement in physical fighting and a greater likelihood of injury among those who do fight. Efforts to reduce fight-related injuries among youth should stress avoidance of weapon-carrying.
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Comparative Study
Smoking initiation and cessation in African Americans attending an inner-city walk-in clinic.
Data collected from a population of African Americans were analyzed to examine patterns of smoking initiation, smoking cessation, and factors related to smoking cessation. ⋯ A sizable opportunity for primary prevention of regular smoking appears to exist among African Americans aged 20 to 30 years as evidenced by patterns of smoking initiation in the population studied. The importance of age at initiation of regular smoking to the duration of smoking is demonstrated in this population over a wide range of duration.
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Geographic and racial/ethnic variability in prostate cancer incidence rates and stage distribution may be partly attributed to differences in screening and early detection. ⋯ Findings from the present and similar studies suggest that outcomes research is needed to determine the impact of these demographic differences on prostate cancer mortality and quality of life. This is particularly important given the current controversy regarding the treatment of clinically localized prostate cancers, increasingly found through early detection, which often involve difficult choices between aggressive therapies including prostatectomy or watchful waiting.