Mammography use

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to compare mammography use in Haitian women versus that of other racial/ethnic groups in the same neighborhoods and to identify factors associated with mammography use in subpopulations that are seldom studied. METHODS: A community-based, cross-sectional survey sampled a multiethnic group of inner-city women from eastern Massachusetts. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression models were used to predict lifetime and recent (within two years) mammography screening. RESULTS: Self-reported lifetime mammography use was similar for Haitian (82%), African-American (78%), Caribbean (81%) and Latina women (86%) but higher for white women (94%, p = 0.008). Mammography use in the past two years was also similar in all groups (66-82%, p = 0.41). In multivariate models, African-American (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]; 0.3; 95% CI 0.1-0.9) and Haitian women (AOR 0.3; 95% CI 0.1-0.9) had lower odds of lifetime mammography compared to white women. Factors independently related to lifetime and recent mammography included having a regular healthcare provider, greater knowledge of breast cancer screening; higher education, and private health insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Haitian women with a regular provider and knowledge of breast cancer screening reported recent mammography use similar to women from other racial/ethnic groups. The racial/ethnic patterns of mammography use in our study do not explain racial/ethnic differences in breast cancer stage or mortality.     

Misestimation of peer tobacco use: understanding disparities in tobacco use

Blacks experience disproportionately elevated rates of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. Blacks experience delayed smoking initiation relative to other racial/ethnic groups, highlighting the importance of examining smoking correlates occurring in late adolescence/early adulthood. The current study reports data collected as part of an ongoing collaborative effort to assess alcohol and drug use on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Two-thousand, two-hundred, seventy-seven African-American subjects, aged 20.3 +/- 3.9 (range 18-53), completed the CORE Alcohol and Drug survey and a brief demographic questionnaire. Results indicated that 90% of all subjects overestimated the rate of smoking among their peers. Overestimating was associated with a > 80% increase in the risk of smoking. These data highlight the need to correct misinformation regarding smoking norms among students at some HBCUs.     

Substance use risk profiles and associations with early substance use in adolescence

We examined whether anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, sensation seeking, and impulsivity (i.e., revised version of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale) would be related to the lifetime prevalence and age of onset of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use, and to polydrug use in early adolescence. Baseline data of a broader effectiveness study were used from 3,783 early adolescents aged 11–15 years. Structural equation models showed that hopelessness and sensation seeking were indicative of ever-used alcohol, tobacco or cannabis and for the use of more than one substance. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of hopelessness had a higher chance of starting to use alcohol or cannabis at an earlier age, but highly anxiety sensitive individuals were less likely to start using alcohol use at a younger age. Conclusively, early adolescents who report higher levels of hopelessness and sensation seeking seem to be at higher risk for an early onset of substance use and poly substance use.     

Vasopressin use in shock

Arginine-vasopressin (VP), also known as the antidiuretic hormone, is essential for water homeostasis. Its synthesis and liberation depends on regulation of osmotic, hypovolemic, hormonal, and nonosmotic stimuli. It has been demonstrated that it is key for maintenance of cardiovascular homeostasis through vasomotor regulation, the determinant of systemic vascular resistance and mean arterial pressure, a process acting through V1 receptors. Shock state with refractory vasodilation seen in sepsis, systemic inflammatory response, hypovolemia, cardiac arrest, polytrauma, etc., is characterized by an initial phase of liberation and increased levels of VP followed by a second phase characterized by inappropriately low levels of this hormone that are associated with refractoriness to management with volume, inotropics, and vasopressors. It has been demonstrated in clinical and experimental studies that exogenous VP treatment under this condition increases systemic vascular resistance, perfusion pressure, and oxygen supply to peripheral tissues, which makes it possible to decrease and to suspend vasopressors and also to increase survival.