American journal of preventive medicine
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One in 5 pregnant individuals report consuming sugar-sweetened beverages at least once per day. Excess sugar consumption during pregnancy is associated with several perinatal complications. As sugar-sweetened beverage taxes become increasingly common public health measures to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, evidence of the downstream effects of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes on perinatal health remains limited. ⋯ Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes levied in five U.S. cities were associated with improvements in perinatal health. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes may be an effective policy instrument for improving health during pregnancy, a critical window during which short-term dietary exposures can have lifelong consequences for the birthing person and child.
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This study aimed to better understand the inequitable impact of the pandemic by examining the associations between stay-at-home orders and indoor smoking in public housing, measured by ambient particulate matter at the 2.5-micron threshold, a marker for secondhand smoke. ⋯ Stay-at-home orders likely led to increased indoor secondhand smoke in public housing. In light of evidence linking air pollutants, including secondhand smoke, with COVID-19, these results also provide further evidence of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This consequence of the pandemic response is unlikely to be isolated and calls for a critical examination of the COVID-19 experience to avoid similar policy failures in future public health crises.
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Youth with incarcerated parents experience more adverse childhood experiences than other youth, placing them at higher risk for mental health and substance use disorders. Despite their increased risk, these youth may be less likely to access mental health services, particularly given their racial and ethnic makeup. Therefore, this study aimed to assess racial and ethnic disparities in access to mental health services for youth with incarcerated parents. ⋯ Youth with incarcerated parents were more likely to report utilization of mental health services, but significant racial and ethnic disparities exist between Black and Latinx youth with incarcerated parents compared with that among White and non-Latinx youth with incarcerated parents. There is a continued need to expand mental health services to youth with incarcerated parents and to address racial and ethnic disparities in access to care.
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This study aimed to evaluate socioeconomic and racial/ethnic differences in e-cigarette uptake and harm perceptions about e-cigarettes among adults who smoke cigarettes in the U.S. ⋯ Adults who were Hispanic, were Black, and/or had lower SES were less likely to use e-cigarettes to quit cigarettes. Findings provide preliminary evidence that differences in harm perceptions may contribute to disparities in e-cigarette transitions.
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Social determinants are structures and conditions in the biological, physical, built, and social environments that affect health, social and physical functioning, health risk, quality of life, and health outcomes. The adoption of recommended, standard measurement protocols for social determinants of health will advance the science of minority health and health disparities research and provide standard social determinants of health protocols for inclusion in all studies with human participants. ⋯ Promoting the adoption of well-established social determinants of health protocols can enable consistent data collection and facilitate comparing and combining studies, with the potential to increase their scientific impact.