American journal of preventive medicine
-
Structural racism has attracted increasing interest as an explanation for racial disparities in health, including differences in adiposity. Structural racism has been measured most often with single-indicator proxies (e.g., housing discrimination), which may leave important aspects of structural racism unaccounted for. This paper develops a multi-indicator scale measuring county structural racism in the U.S. and evaluates its association with BMI. ⋯ The results confirm structural racism as a latent construct and demonstrate that structural racism can be measured in U.S. counties using publicly available data with methods offering a strong conceptual underpinning and content validity. Further study is necessary to determine whether addressing structural racism may reduce BMI among blacks.
-
Changes in tobacco use behaviors among women with respect to pregnancy are expected to be significant and dynamic, with a strong desire for smoking cessation, diversification of tobacco products, and perceived relative safety on noncigarette tobacco products. This study aims to illustrate how multiple and different tobacco use behaviors change before and during pregnancy. ⋯ This study demonstrates a widespread prenatal tobacco use and low rates of complete cessation in major subgroups of tobacco users. Current findings on the concurrent use of multiple products and noncigarette tobacco products highlight the urgent need for further research and comprehensive public health intervention for smoking cessation during pregnancy.
-
Given the increase of marijuana use among U.S. women, higher rates of unintended pregnancies among women who use marijuana, and potential consequences of maternal use, there is a need to identify factors associated with marijuana use in the period leading up to pregnancy. This study aims to provide estimates of preconception marijuana use and describe associations between preconception marijuana use and maternal characteristics among a population-based sample of recently delivered women in the U.S. ⋯ Reproductive-aged women who are intending pregnancy or likely to experience an unintended pregnancy should be asked about and encouraged to refrain from marijuana use, especially given the strong association with depressive symptomology and concurrent use of other substances, including tobacco.
-
Previous research on sugar-sweetened beverage trends has focused on self-reported consumption from surveys. Few studies used objective store sales or explored differences by area-level demographics and store type. ⋯ The finding that sales of sugar-sweetened beverages decreased over time, whereas sales of bottled water increased is encouraging because sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is linked to obesity and other chronic conditions. This study provides a novel, rigorous assessment of U.S. beverage sales trends and differences by community and store characteristics.