American journal of preventive medicine
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Residential food environments are one of the important determinants of cardiovascular health. However, past literature has been limited by short-term follow-ups, time-invariant environmental measurements at baseline, and/or not investigating both healthy and unhealthy aspects of the food environment. This study examines the effects of time-varying healthy and unhealthy food environments on incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) over 10 years, extracting data from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016; N=10,413). ⋯ Findings suggest that public policymakers should be aware of the benefits and nuances of varying food environment components as they can contribute to positive or negative cardiovascular health.
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On January 1, 2017, Philadelphia implemented a beverage excise tax. The study's objective was to determine whether beverage advertising expenditures and the number of beverage ads purchased changed in Philadelphia compared to Baltimore because of this tax. ⋯ This study found little evidence of changes in mass media advertising on the examined platforms between 2016 and 2019 due to the Philadelphia beverage tax.
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Cigarette smoking continues to decline in the U.S., but cannabis use is increasing. Many people who smoke cigarettes also use cannabis. This study examines the characteristics of persons who co-use and those who do not co-use and the likelihood of quitting cigarettes for callers to Kick It California, a large state tobacco quitline. ⋯ A substantial percentage of tobacco quitline callers use cannabis. Those who do co-use quit cigarette smoking at a lower rate than those who do not. Over 40% of people who co-use reported intention to quit cannabis, making tobacco quitlines a rich environment to learn about people who co-use and develop strategies for intervention.
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This study identifies changes in Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) contact volume following the 988 National Suicide Prevention Hotline rollout, and examines changes in contact volume for self-identified Veterans. ⋯ The 988 rollout was associated with increased VCL contact volume and broad changes in the profile of users. This underscores the importance of crisis services in adapting to dynamic user needs and highlights the potential of national suicide prevention initiatives to reach diverse populations.
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Alcohol use is involved in a large proportion of homicides and suicides each year in the U.S., but there is limited evidence on how policies targeting alcohol influence violence in the U.S. ⋯ Increases in the restrictiveness of state-level alcohol policies are associated with reductions in homicides. More restrictive alcohol policy environments may offer an opportunity to reduce homicides.