AJPH Tag
24 Oct Flavored Tobacco Restriction Policy Linked to Reduced Youth Use of Tobacco Products
Posted at 19:49h
in Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Melody Kingsley, MPH
Epidemiologist, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The majority of youth who use tobacco use flavored products, which are available in thousands of distinct flavors with youth appeal.[i] In response, communities in states across the country, including Massachusetts, have passed flavored tobacco restriction policies which restrict sales of flavored tobacco; the Food and Drug Administration has proposed increased restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco nationwide as well. To date, a few studies have found that flavored tobacco restriction policies reduce sales and availability of flavored tobacco, but to our knowledge, no prior evidence exists on the short-term impact of FTRPs on youth tobacco use. Timely evaluation of these policies is important to ensure that FTRPs are an effective strategy for curbing youth tobacco use.
25 Jul Guns in the Home Increase Risk of Domestic Homicide
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50372" align="alignleft" width="138"]
Dr. Kivisto[/caption]
Aaron Kivisto, Ph.D., HSPP
Licensed Psychologist
Co-Director, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology
University of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN 46227
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There’s a robust literature showing that increased gun ownership rates are associated with increased rates of firearm homicide and suicide. We sought to examine whether the increased risk of homicide attributable to firearms is equally distributed across the population of potential victims or whether the risk is localized to particular victim groups.
Our findings showed that the risk of gun ownership is fairly localized to intimate partners and other family members; they’re bearing the bulk of the risk associated with gun ownership.
20 Apr Pediatric Blood Lead Levels in Public vs Private New York Housing
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48663" align="alignleft" width="200"] Lead paint can crack and form flakes, which can contaminate the surrounding environment.Source: Wikipedia[/caption] Ms. Jacqueline Chiofalo, MPA Director of Policy Research & Analysis The Institute for Family Health Astoria, New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Exposure to lead is dangerous and has been banned from use in residential dwellings. However, residual sources of lead still exist. Few studies have examined pediatric lead poisoning between public (NYCHA) and private housing units, and no recent studies performed in New York City. Our study used retrospective chart analysis of routine child lead testing to examine the difference in blood lead levels between the two housing types. Our data showed that children seen in our health centers who lived in New York City public housing had significantly lower mean blood lead levels and fewer children were found with levels over the CDC reference range of 5 μg/dL compared to children who lived in private housing.
16 Apr Despair Rising in Young Middle Aged Adults, Regardless of Ethnicity or Education
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48633" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Gaydosh[/caption]
Lauren Gaydosh, PhD
Assistant Professor
Center for Medicine, Health, and Society
Public Policy Studies
Vanderbilt University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Several years ago, life expectancy at birth in the United States declined, and this decline has continued every year since. Part of the cause underlying this decline is that midlife mortality – deaths among those 45-54 – has been rising. This increase in midlife mortality has been attributed by some to the “deaths of despair” – a cluster of causes of death including suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol-related disease - and has been most pronounced among middle-aged white adults with a HS degree or less.
In our research, we wanted to better understand the indicators of despair that would be predictive of these causes of death. Things like depression, substance use, and suicidal ideation. And study them in individuals before the period of elevated risk of death – in other words, before they reached middle age. Our goal was to evaluate whether these markers of despair were rising for a younger cohort, and whether this pattern was isolated to white adults with low education.
02 Dec Amphetamine Use Even Higher than Opioids Among Rural Pregnant Women
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46230" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Admon[/caption]
Lindsay Admon, MD MSc
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
University of Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
In our previous work (https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2017/12000/Disparities_in_Chronic_Conditions_Among_Women.19.aspx), we identified higher rates of deliveries complicated by substance use among rural women. We knew that some of this difference would be accounted for by opioids.What we didn’t expect was that when we took a closer look, amphetamine use disorder accounted for a significant portion of this disparity as well.
The main findings of this study are that, between 2008-09 and 2014-15, amphetamine and opioid use among delivering women increased disproportionately across rural compared to urban counties in three of four census regions. By 2014-15, amphetamine use disorder was identified among approximately 1% of all deliveries in the rural western United States, which was higher than the incidence of opioid use in most regions.
Compared to opioid-related deliveries, amphetamine-related deliveries were associated with higher incidence of the majority of adverse gestational outcomes that we examined including pre-eclampsia, preterm delivery, and severe maternal morbidity and mortality.