American journal of preventive medicine
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E-cigarettes deliver an aerosol of nicotine by heating a liquid and are promoted as an alternative to combustible tobacco. This study determines the longitudinal associations between e-cigarette use and respiratory disease controlling for combustible tobacco use. ⋯ Use of e-cigarettes is an independent risk factor for respiratory disease in addition to combustible tobacco smoking. Dual use, the most common use pattern, is riskier than using either product alone.
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Perceiving discriminatory treatment may contribute to systemic inflammation, a risk factor of cardiovascular pathophysiology. This study evaluated the association of self-reported discrimination with changes in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and the mediating role of adiposity. ⋯ Everyday and lifetime discrimination were associated with significant high-sensitivity C-reactive protein increases over 13 years. The physiologic response to discrimination may lead to systemic inflammation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Social Networking and Gamified App to Increase Physical Activity: Cluster RCT.
Appealing approaches to increasing physical activity levels are needed. This study evaluated whether a social and gamified smartphone app (Active Team) could be one such approach. ⋯ A gamified, online social networking physical activity intervention did not change objective moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, though it did increase self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and achieve high levels of engagement. Future work is needed to understand if gamification, online social networks, and app-based approaches can be leveraged to achieve positive behavior change.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Active Children Through Individual Vouchers Evaluation: A Mixed-Method RCT.
Physical activity declines in adolescence, especially among those in deprived areas. Research suggests this may result from accessibility barriers (e.g., cost and locality). The Active Children Through Individual Vouchers Evaluation RCT aimed to improve the fitness and heart health of teenagers in Wales with the help of teenagers who co-produced the study. ⋯ Active Children Through Individual Vouchers Evaluation identified methods that may have a positive impact on cardiovascular fitness, cardiovascular health, and perspectives of activity. Consulting with teenagers, empowering them, and providing more local opportunities for them to take part in activities that are fun, unstructured, and social could positively impact teenage physical activity.
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Although opioid prescribing has decreased since 2010, overdose deaths involving illicit opioids have continued to rise. This study explores prescribing patterns before fatal overdose of decedents who died of prescription and illicit opioid overdoses. ⋯ Prescribing patterns alone may not be sufficient to identify patients who are at high risk for opioid overdose, especially for those using illicit opioids. Interventions aimed at reducing opioid overdoses should take into account different patterns of opioid prescribing associated with illicit and prescription opioid overdose deaths and be designed around the local characteristics of the opioid overdose epidemic.