Objective

To determine if post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with health risk behaviors among Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans attending college.

Method

Using 2008 Boynton College Student Health Survey data, we tested associations between self-reported PTSD diagnosis and self-reported risk behaviors (n = 406).

Results

We found PTSD diagnosis to be significantly associated with reporting involvement in a physical fight in the past year (ARR = 3.1; 95% CI: 2.2, 4.4) and marginally associated with high risk drinking (ARR = 1.3; 95% CI: 1.1, 1.6). However, no association was seen between PTSD and the tobacco use and other safety behaviors that we examined.

Conclusion

PTSD is likely a factor that contributes to the relationship between military service and certain health risk behaviors.

Purpose

The population military veterans attending college is rapidly growing as veterans return from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). We sought to describe patterns of student veterans’ health-related behaviors and how they might differ from their non-veteran peers.

Design

We analyzed data from the 2008 Boynton College Student Health Survey (CSHS).

Setting

CSHS participants completed an anonymous online survey.

Subjects

The CSHS sampled students (n=8,651) attending public, private, two-, and four-year postsecondary educational institutions in Minnesota.

Measures

The CSHS included items on substance use (including alcohol and tobacco), safety, nutrition, and physical activity.

Analysis

We described demographics of OEF/OIF veteran, non-OEF/OIF veteran, and non-veteran students and used poisson regression to compute adjusted relative risks (ARR) with 95% confidence intervals to characterize associations between veteran status and health behaviors.

Results

After controlling for demographics, veteran students reported more safety-, tobacco-, and alcohol-related risk behaviors compared to non-veteran students. For instance, compared to the non-veteran reference group, the ARR for past year smokeless tobacco use and physical fighting among for OEF/OIF veterans was 1.76 [CI: 1.31–2.35] and 1.48 [CI: 1.22–1.79] respectively. Veteran and non-veteran students display similar weight-related behaviors, though OEF/OIF veteran students were more likely to engage in strengthening exercises.

Conclusions

There are specific health risk behaviors which are particularly relevant for veterans attending postsecondary institutions. As veterans enroll in postsecondary education there is a unique window of opportunity for health promotion in this population.

Background/Aims

Our objective was to assess associations between passive smoke exposure in various venues and serum carotenoid concentrations.

Methods

CARDIA is an ongoing longitudinal study of the risk factors for subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease. At baseline in 1985/1986, serum carotenoids were assayed and passive smoke exposure inside and outside of the home and diet were assessed by self-report. Our analytic sample consisted of 2,633 black and white non-smoking adults aged 18–30 years.

Results

Greater total passive smoke exposure was associated with lower levels of the sum of the three provitamin A carotenoids, α-carotene, β-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin (–0.048 nmol/l per hour of passive smoke exposure, p = 0.001), unassociated with lutein/zeaxanthin, and associated with higher levels of lycopene (0.027 nmol/l per hour of passive smoke exposure, p = 0.010) after adjustment for demographics, diet, lipid profile, and supplement use. Exposure in both home and non-home spaces was also associated with lower levels of the provitamin A carotenoid index.

Conclusion

Cross-sectionally, in 1985/86, passive smoke exposure in various venues was associated with reduced levels of provitamin A serum carotenoids.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to explore how weight might influence the relationship between depression and smoking.

Methods

Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey representative of women age 40-65 enrolled in Group Health Cooperative, a health plan serving members in Washington and northern Idaho (n = 4,640). We examined the relationships between depression and smoking in normal weight, overweight, and obese women using weighted multiple logistic regression with both minimal and full adjustment.

Results

Current depression was significantly associated with current smoking in obese women (adjusted odds ratio = 2.48, 95% confidence interval = 1.26−4.88) but not in underweight/normal or overweight women. Among ever smokers, obese women, but not other groups, were significantly less likely to have quit smoking in the past.

Conclusions

The association between smoking and depression in middle-aged women appears to be limited to the obese subset and may stem from a lesser likelihood of obese ever smokers to have quit. This population represents an important target for preventive medicine efforts.

Background

The Weight Loss Maintenance Trial (WLM) compared two long-term weight-maintenance interventions, a personal contact arm and an Internet arm, with a no-treatment control after an initial six-month Phase I weight loss program. The Internet arm focused on use of an interactive website for support of long-term weight maintenance. There is limited information about patterns of website use and specific components of an interactive website that might help promote maintenance of weight loss.

Objective

This paper presents a secondary analysis of the subset of participants in the Internet arm and focuses on website use patterns and features associated with long-term weight maintenance.

Methods

Adults at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) who lost at least 4 kilograms in an initial 20-week group-based, behavioral weight-loss program were trained to use an interactive website for weight loss maintenance. Of the 348 participants, 37% were male and 38% were African American. Mean weight loss was 8.6 kilograms. Participants were encouraged to log in at least weekly and enter a current weight for the 30-month study period. The website contained features that encouraged setting short-term goals, creating action plans, and reinforcing self-management habits. The website also included motivational modules, daily tips, and tailored messages. Based on log-in and weight-entry frequency, we divided participants into three website use categories: consistent, some, and minimal.

Results

Participants in the consistent user group (n = 212) were more likely to be older (P = .002), other than African American (P = .02), and more educated (P = .01). While there was no significant difference between website use categories in the amount of Phase I change in body weight (P = .45) or income (P = .78), minimal website users (n = 75) were significantly more likely to have attended fewer Phase I sessions (P = .001) and had a higher initial body mass index (BMI) (P < .001). After adjusting for baseline characteristics including initial BMI, variables most associated with less weight regain included: number of log-ins (P = .001), minutes on the website (P < .001), number of weight entries (P = .002), number of exercise entries (P < .001), and sessions with additional use of website features after weight entry (P = .002).

Conclusion

Participants defined as consistent website users of an interactive behavioral website designed to promote maintenance of weight loss were more successful at maintaining long-term weight loss.

Trial Registration

NCT00054925; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00054925 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5rC7523ue)

Purpose

To identify distinct smoking trajectories during adolescence and assess how smoking-related factors relate to trajectory membership.

Methods

The sample includes 3637 youth from across the state of Minnesota. Measures include tobacco use, smoking behaviors of parents and friends, youth smoking-related attitudes and beliefs, and home smoking policies. A cohort-sequential design was used to identify smoking trajectories, including five cohorts of youth (ages 12–16) followed for 3 years.

Results

Six distinct trajectories of tobacco use were found: nonsmokers (54%), triers (17%), occasional users (10%), early established (7%), late established (8%), and decliners (4%). Several factors were associated with increased likelihood of being in a smoking trajectory group (vs. the nonsmoking group): parental smoking, friend smoking, greater perceptions of the number of adults and teenagers who smoke, and higher functional meaning of tobacco use. In contrast, higher perceived difficulty smoking in public places, negative perceptions of the tobacco industry, and home smoking policies were associated with less likelihood of being in one of the smoking trajectories (vs. the nonsmoking trajectory).

Conclusions

Adolescents exhibit diverse patterns of smoking during adolescence and tobacco-related influences were strong predictors of trajectory membership.

OBJECTIVES

To measure community-level changes in the methods youth use to obtain cigarettes over time and to relate these methods to the progression of smoking.

METHODS

We analyzed 2000-2003 data from the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort study, where youth (beginning at age 12), who were living in Minnesota at baseline, were surveyed every six months via telephone. We conducted mixed model repeated measures logistic regression to obtain probabilities of cigarette access methods among past 30-day smokers (n = 340 at baseline).

RESULTS

The probability of obtaining cigarettes from a commercial source in the past month declined from 0.36 at baseline to 0.22 at the sixth survey point while the probability of obtaining cigarettes from a social source during the previous month increased from 0.54 to 0.76 (p for both trends = 0.0001). At the community level, the likelihood of adolescents obtaining cigarettes from social sources was inversely related to the likelihood of progressing to heavy smoking (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

During this time, youth shifted to greater reliance on social sources and less on commercial sources. A trend toward less commercial access to cigarettes accompanied by an increase in social access may translate to youth being less likely to progress to heavier smoking.