Adverse Childhood Experiences and Tobacco Use among Latinx Parents in the USA.

The current study aimed to understand the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and cultural factors on Latinx parents' tobacco use. Tobacco use is the leading cause of death among Latinx individuals in the USA, and parental use has long-term secondary harm for children. Thus, it is important to examine cultural protective factors that could prevent Latinx parents and children from the negative health effects of tobacco use. Data came from 2813 18- to 50-year-old Latinx respondents who participated in the Wave 3 of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. They reported having children living in their household and had complete data for the variables of interest. In this sample (mean age = 33.5 years, 53.7% female), 16.4% (95%CI = 14.7%, 18.4%) and 7.4% (95%CI = 6.4%, 8.6%) were current and former smokers, respectively. The multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that experiencing more ACEs categories was associated with increased likelihood of current and former tobacco use compared to never use. Past year discrimination experiences and being US born (2nd and 3rd-generation parents) also increased the likelihood of current use. Differences in risk of current and former tobacco use were found based on respondents' country of origin, with protection against tobacco use found for most countries compared to being from Puerto Rico. Stronger ethnic-racial identity was not protective against tobacco use. Findings show the importance of considering ACEs and cultural factors when designing and implementing tobacco cessation programs for Latinx parents and increasing awareness of the impact of parents' tobacco use on their children.

Socio-demographic Correlates of Electronic Cigarette and Cannabis Co-use Among Naïve and Tobacco Adolescent Users.

The increasing co-use of e-cigarette and cannabis among youth has become a public health challenge. The present analyses aimed to identify prevalence and correlates of past-month co-use of e-cigarettes and cannabis among adolescents with and without prior tobacco use. For this panel study, 5 years of cross-sectional data (2014-2018) were used from 8th, 10th-, and 12th-grade adolescents in the Monitoring the Future study, a nationally representative survey of U.S. students. We examined prevalence and correlates of e-cigarettes and cannabis co-use among adolescents who had ever used tobacco (n = 15,136) and among those who had never used tobacco (n = 56,525). Adolescents who had ever used tobacco showed significantly higher rates of e-cigarettes and cannabis co-use compared to adolescents who had never used tobacco (17.1% vs. 2.2%, p < 0.01). Results from adjusted multinomial regression models showed that overall, Black and Hispanic adolescents tobacco users were less likely than Whites to co-use e-cigarettes and cannabis. Black adolescents who had used tobacco previously were more likely than Whites to have used cannabis exclusively. Black and Hispanic tobacco-naïve adolescents were more likely than Whites to have used cannabis exclusively, while Black tobacco-naïve adolescents were less likely to use e-cigarettes exclusively or co-use e-cigarettes and cannabis. Overall, males and twelve graders were more likely than males and eight graders to use or co-use cannabis or e-cigarettes, respectively. Among lifetime tobacco users, higher levels of parental education were associated with co-use of cannabis and e-cigarettes. Racial/ethnic-specific patterns of e-cigarette and cannabis co-use depends on adolescents' prior experience with tobacco. The higher rates of use and co-use of e-cigarettes and cannabis among prior tobacco users suggest that targeted interventions are needed for this group. Identified socio-demographic groups at higher risk of co-use of e-cigarettes and cannabis need to be further studied.

Sex-specific and generational effects of alcohol and tobacco use on epigenetic age acceleration in the Michigan longitudinal study.

Background: Excessive alcohol and tobacco use are risk factors for poor health in both men and women, but use patterns and relationships with diseases and mortality differ between sexes. The impact of substance use on the epigenome, including DNA methylation profiles, may also differ by sex. It is also unknown whether parental substance use during childhood is associated with epigenetic changes that persist into adulthood. This study assessed the sex-specific effects of individuals' alcohol and tobacco use, as well as paternal alcohol and paternal/maternal tobacco use, on offspring's cellular aging as measured by epigenetic age acceleration. Methods: Four measures of epigenetic age acceleration (HorvathAA, HannumAA, PhenoAA, and GrimAA), the difference between chronological age and inferred age based on DNA methylation, were estimated from saliva samples. Linear mixed models tested associations between alcohol/tobacco use and epigenetic age acceleration in parents and offspring. Results: Current tobacco smoking was associated with a 4.61-year increase in GrimAA, and former tobacco smoking was associated with a 3.60-year increase in HannumAA after accounting for multiple testing (p < 0.0125). In males only, current tobacco smoking was nominally associated with a 2.19-year increase in HannumAA (p < 0.05), and this effect was significantly different than the female-specific effect (p < 0.0125). Paternal heavy alcohol use when the offspring was 12 or younger was associated with a 4.43-year increase in GrimAA among offspring (p < 0.0125). Conclusions: This study found evidence of sex-specific effects of alcohol and tobacco use, as well as paternal heavy alcohol use, on epigenetic age acceleration.

Effects of family history of alcohol problems on alcohol consumption: Stronger for medically underserved men.

Family history (FH), informed by genetics and family environment, can be used by practitioners for risk prediction. This study compares the associations of FH with alcohol outcomes for medically underserved (MUS) men and women with the associations for non-underserved individuals to assess the utility of FH as a screening tool for this high-priority group. Data were from 29,993 adult lifetime drinkers in the Wave 1 (2001-2002) and Wave 2 (2004-2005) National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. All variables except FH were measured at Wave 2. Dependent variables were 12-month alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD). FH scores (FH-SCORE) measured the proportion of first- and second-degree biological relatives with alcohol problems. MUS status was defined by household income at or below 100% of the federal poverty line and participants reporting no usual source of health care. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models tested main and interaction effects. Models showed a significant interaction of FH-SCORE with MUS status (p < .01), with a stronger effect of FH on alcohol consumption for the MUS group. This moderating effect was weaker for women than for men (FH-SCORE x MUS x Sex three-way interaction: p < .01). AUD models showed a significant positive association with FH-SCORE (p < .001) but no association with MUS status and no significant interaction effects. In this sample of lifetime drinkers, FH was associated with higher alcohol consumption, especially for MUS men. These results encourage additional validation of FH scores to prioritize MUS adults at high risk for alcohol problems to receive preventive interventions.

Kratom Use Among U.S. Adolescents: Analyses of the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

BACKGROUND: Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is an opioid-like psychoactive substance not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could be used due to its euphoric, stimulant, and analgesic effects. Kratom is gaining popularity in the U.S. and becoming a reason of concern among pediatricians. METHODS: Data from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health were analyzed to estimate the prevalence and identify correlates of lifetime and past 12-month kratom use among 13,397 U.S. adolescents. Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to assess the associations of interest. RESULTS: Lifetime and past 12-month prevalence of kratom use was .44% (95% confidence interval [CI] .32-.60) and .27% (95% CI .18-.40), respectively. Past 12-month cigarette use was associated with lifetime kratom use (adjusted odds ratio 2.60, 95% CI 1.07-6.35). Past 12-month cannabis use was associated with past 12-month kratom use (adjusted odds ratio 2.48, 95% CI 1.15-5.35). CONCLUSIONS: This first report on the epidemiology of adolescent kratom use provides a baseline to assess kratom use trends in future years and identify potential correlates of use among adolescents.

Prevalence and drug use correlates of extra-medical use of prescription medications for sleep among adults in the United States: Results of the 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the epidemiology of extra-medical use of prescription medications for sleep among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2015-2018 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. The sample includes 3410 U.S. adults who reported extra-medical use of prescription medications for sleep. Multinomial logistic regression models identified correlates of type of drug used [i.e., sedatives and/or tranquilizers-only (ST-only), prescription pain relievers-only (PPR-only), or sedatives, tranquilizers, and prescription pain relievers (ST + PPR)], and logistic regression models identified correlates of reasons for extra-medical use (i.e., sleep-only vs. sleep and recreational). RESULTS: About 60% (95%CI = 58.9, 63.5) of the sample reported extra-medical use of ST-only, followed by PPR-only (29.9%, 95%CI = 27.5, 32.5), and ST + PPR (8.9%, 95%CI = 7.7, 10.4). Recreational use was reported by 28.4% (95% CI = 26.5, 30.4) of the sample. The odds of extra-medical use of PPR-only (aRRR = 3.1, 95%CI = 2.1, 4.5) and ST + PPR (aRRR = 1.9, 95%CI = 1.2, 3.1) as opposed to ST-only, were greater among Non-Hispanic Blacks than Non-Hispanic Whites. Compared to non-alcohol users, those with a past-12 months diagnosis of alcohol use disorder were more likely to use ST + PPR rather than ST-only (aIRR = 2.0, 95%CI = 1.1, 3.7). Non-Hispanic Blacks (aOR = 0.6, 95%CI = 0.4, 08) and individuals living in rural areas (aOR = 0.5, 95%CI = 0.3, 09) were less likely to report extra-medical use of prescription medications for recreational reasons than Non-Hispanic Whites and those residing in large metropolitan areas, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Extra-medical use of PPR-only and ST + PPR as an aid to sleep, is prevalent among Non-Hispanic Blacks, young adults, and those residing in rural areas. Most individuals reported that extra-medical use of prescription medications was primarily motivated by sleep reasons, rather than by sleep and recreational reasons. Potential interventions include access to sleep treatments, education on the effectiveness and risk associated with extra-medical use and co-use of prescription medications for sleep, and research on sleep-related disparities.

Shared Environmental Influences on Electronic Cigarette Use Among Adolescent and Young Adult Females.

INTRODUCTION: Electronic cigarettes are now the most commonly used form of tobacco product among youth in the United States. Current evidence suggests that although e-cigarettes are perceived as less harmful and preferred over combustible cigarettes by adolescents, adolescents who try e-cigarettes are at greater risk of transitioning to combustible cigarettes. The genetic and environmental contributions to liability for e-cigarette use have not yet been examined using a behavioral genetic design. METHODS: Behavioral genetic models of lifetime and current e-cigarette use and friends who use e-cigarettes were examined among female monozygotic and dizygotic twins. RESULTS: A total of 41 female twin pairs (65.9% monozygotic twins; age = 19.7, SD = 1.6) with complete data on the study variables were included in the present analyses. The majority of the sample (68.1%) had at least some friends who use e-cigarettes. Additive genetic effects on e-cigarette use were not present, but the shared environment explained 98.7% of the variance in lifetime e-cigarette use, 96.6% in current e-cigarette use, and 94.9% in affiliation with friends who use e-cigarettes. CONCLUSION: This first study on the behavioral genetics of e-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults suggest that environmental factors shared by twins within a family seem to play a predominant role in the initial stages of e-cigarette use, a finding that is consistent with what has been found for tobacco. The findings emphasize the importance of continuing population-based tobacco control interventions to reduce the burden of e-cigarette use among adolescents. IMPLICATIONS: The shared environment significantly influences the initiation and regular use of electronic cigarettes and affiliation with friends who use electronic cigarettes among adolescent and young adult females. These findings underscore the importance of formulating preventive interventions that mitigate the social effects of familial influences on e-cigarette use through social skills training, education on harms of e-cigarettes for young people, or altering social norms regarding initiation of novel tobacco products.

Alcohol use among older adults and health care utilization.

OBJECTIVE: Examinations of the association between health care utilization and levels of alcohol use are lacking in nationally representative samples of older adults. The present study set out to fill this gap by demonstrating how various aspects of health care utilization are associated with alcohol use among older adults in the United States. METHOD: Cross-sectional panel data from 11 years of the National Health and Interview Survey were used to examine prevalence and rates of alcohol use among older adults (n = 106,511) and associations with demographic variables and recency of health care use, health care office visits, and use of emergency room/emergency department. RESULTS: About 70% of older adults (aged 65+; mean age = 74.1, SD = 0.04) had drunk alcohol in their lifetime, and 15.8% were current moderate or heavy drinkers. Results of an adjusted multinomial logistic regression revealed that individuals with any lifetime alcohol use had more recent health care visits and more office visits (but not current heavy users) than lifetime abstainers. Former alcohol users had more ER/ED visits but current moderate users at all levels had fewer ER/ED visits than lifetime abstainers, controlling for sex, race, educational attainment, marital status, and concurrent tobacco use. CONCLUSION: Older adults who have any history of alcohol use are more likely than abstainers to have had recent health care visits, more office visits, (but not moderate or heavy users), and less likely to have had an emergency department visit.

Intersection of familial risk and environmental social control on high-risk drinking and alcohol dependence in a US national sample of adults.

BACKGROUND: Effects of a family history of alcoholism may be moderated by area-level social control factors. We examine whether increased neighborhood alcohol availability (low social control environment) or increased presence of religious adherents in the county (high social control environment) interact with family history in relation to alcohol outcomes. METHODS: Weighted data from 12,686 adult drinkers (51% male; mean age 44; 80% White, 9% Black, 11% Hispanic) in three US National Alcohol Surveys were linked with data on area-level off-premise alcohol availability and adherence to religions with strong prohibitions against drinking. Family history density had four levels (family history negative, extended family only, first-degree relative(s) only, high family density). Dichotomous outcomes were past-year high-risk drinking and alcohol dependence. Logistic regression models with interaction terms assessed whether associations of family history with alcohol outcomes differed significantly by area-level social control. Stratified models assessed differences by sex and by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: In the full sample, effects of first-degree relatives and high family density on high-risk drinking strengthened as alcohol availability increased. This was replicated in the subsample of women and suggested in relation to dependence among men and Black drinkers. For White drinkers, higher religious social control reduced effects of first-degree relatives on high-risk drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Low social control-in particular, greater density of off-premise alcohol outlets-appears to exacerbate effects of a family history of alcoholism on high-risk drinking. Policy makers should consider differential benefits of decreasing alcohol availability for people from high-risk families to reduce high-risk drinking and alcohol problems.

Common Liabilities in Internalizing Symptoms and Cigarette Use in Adolescence.

INTRODUCTION: Substance use and mood disorders account for about 10% of the global burden of disease and, among adolescents, are a significant source of disability. The present study examined whether additive genetic or shared environmental factors influenced the covariance of internalizing symptoms and cigarette use during adolescence when both of these problems begin to increase. AIMS AND METHODS: We used data (n = 1230 pairs of twins) from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (mean age = 15.3) to decompose the variance of internalizing symptoms, cigarette initiation, and quantity of cigarettes smoked in a variance decomposition model that included a beta coefficient to allow for estimates of cigarette initiation to influence quantity of cigarettes smoked. RESULTS: In biometric models we were able to equate all parameter estimates by sex. After identifying the best fitting model, parameter estimates were calculated and the significance of overlapping paths between internalizing symptoms and cigarette initiation were tested. After accounting for the genetic architecture of cigarette initiation and quantity smoked, the covariance between internalizing symptoms and cigarette use was accounted for by sex-specific shared and unique environmental factors. CONCLUSIONS: Among adolescents, the overlap in risk factors between internalizing symptoms and cigarette use is because of non-genetic, environmental factors. Further exploration of the environmental sources of variance involved in the onset of adolescents internalizing symptoms and cigarette use is warranted. IMPLICATIONS: We find that during adolescence common environmental factors influence the association between internalizing symptoms and cigarette use. Correlated vulnerabilities because of environmental sources between internalizing and cigarette use may be open to intervention and likely will influence the progression of internalizing and cigarette use.

Exploring how Family and Neighborhood Stressors Influence Genetic Risk for Adolescent Conduct Problems and Alcohol Use.

Previous research suggests that genetic risk factors may predispose to conduct problems and alcohol use in adolescence. Whether genetic risk factors interact with social contexts has not been well characterized among African American adolescents. Data came from a subsample of the Genes, Environment, and Neighborhood Initiative study comprising 501 African American adolescents, including 151 lifetime drinkers (56% female, mean age = 16.3, SD = 1.4). Genetic risk was assessed with polygenic risk scores for alcohol dependence. Analyses explored interactions between genetic risk and self-reported alcohol use, conduct problems, life stressors, and other covariates. The effects of two gene-environment interactions (G × E) were tested in the sample of alcohol exposed adolescents; one on conduct problems and the other on alcohol use. There were significant associations between polygenic risk for alcohol dependence and conduct problems. A significant G × E interaction showed the impact of genetic risk on conduct problems was stronger under conditions of high exposure to family and neighborhood stressors. Among this sample of African American adolescents, genetic risk for alcohol dependence was not directly associated with alcohol use but was related to more conduct problems. Further, the effect of genetic risk interacted with stressors from the family and neighborhood, so that the effect of genetic risk on conduct problems was stronger for individuals who reported greater stressors.

Evaluating Neighborhood, Social, and Genetic Influences on Precursors of Alcohol Use Risk Behavior in African American Adolescents.

Background: Using a socioecological framework, we examined neighborhood and social stressors in concert with genetic risk for alcohol dependence in relation to externalizing behaviors, important precursors to alcohol-related problems. Methods: We used data from African American adolescents and their caregivers in the Gene, Environment, and Neighborhood Initiative, a subsample of the Mobile Youth and Poverty Study. Participants for the current analyses included 112 adolescents who reported ever having at least one full drink of alcohol. Empirical Bayes scores were used to estimate neighborhood-level violence and transitions. Multivariate models tested main effects and then interactions of family stressors, discrimination, and genetic risk with the neighborhood variables. Results: In the main effects model, adolescent externalizing behaviors were positively associated with greater family stressors, more racial discrimination experiences, and genetic liability, while neighborhood variables were nonsignificant. We found three significant interactions. Specifically, the joint effects of neighborhood violence and transitions and between these neighborhood variables and family stressors were significantly associated with externalizing behaviors. Conclusions: Our findings suggest genetic liability and complex interactions between neighborhood context and social stressors are important contributors that should be considered in the development of early prevention programs for adolescents who live in economically disadvantaged areas.

Adolescent opioid use: Examining the intersection of multiple inequalities.

Nonmedical prescription opioid use in the U.S. has increased, with devastating consequences. Yet, we know little about how multiple inequalities impact adolescent opioid use. Using data from the 2015 Monitoring the Future study, we address this gap by examining adolescent opioid use by residential context, parental education, across race/ethnicity and sex. Bivariate findings demonstrate differential patterns of use by residential context and SES across race/ethnicity and sex. Multi-group logistic regression analyses were used to explore whether associations in parental education, residential context, sex with opioid use differed within race/ethnicity. Our results suggest that intersecting identities lead to different rates of opioid use among adolescents and that multiple identities should be considered when designing treatment interventions for adolescent opioid use. Findings also reveal a need to acknowledge racial/ethnic heterogeneity among rural adolescents and how the rural context relates to opioid use. Implications for community-based approaches for addressing these inequalities are addressed.

Sociodemographics, but not Acculturation Proxies, Account for Differences in Lifetime Cessation between White and Hispanic Smokers.

Objective: Prominent addiction theories predict that Hispanic smokers should have more success at quitting than White smokers due to less physical dependence on average, but extant findings are mixed. This might be due in part to a lack of attention to confounding demographic and acculturation-related variables. Our study compared likelihood of lifetime cessation between White and Hispanic men and women of different language proficiency, nativity and residency status, controlling for age, education, and poverty level. Method: Data from 123,574 White and Hispanic participants in the 2011-2015 National Health Interview Surveys were used. Logistic regression analyses examined ethnic differences in odds of being a former smoker. Predicted probabilities of being a former smoker were calculated from these models. Results: In unadjusted analyses, White men demonstrated higher odds of being a former smoker compared with Hispanic men, Hispanic women, and White women. In adjusted analyses, Hispanics demonstrated higher odds of being a former smoker compared with Whites, and differences by acculturation proxies emerged. Conclusions: Not accounting for demographics may suppress ethnic differences in likelihood of smoking cessation. Among Hispanics, demographics may be more important determinants of lifetime quitting than acculturation-related characteristics.

Nicotine dependence, internalizing symptoms, mood variability and daily tobacco use among young adult smokers.

INTRODUCTION: Cigarette use among young adults continues to rise. As young adults transition to college and assume other adult roles and responsibilities, they are at risk for the development of mental health problems and for the progression of substance use problems. Previous studies suggest that individual differences in negative and positive mood contribute to cigarette use in established college-aged smokers, but less is known whether fluctuations in mood influence daily cigarette use, controlling for trait levels of internalizing symptoms and nicotine dependence. METHODS: Data for this study came from a sample of college students (N=39, 59% female, mean age 20.4years) who reported regular cigarette use and participated in a 21-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study assessing within-individual variation in cigarette use and mood. RESULTS: A three-level hierarchical linear model accounting for the structure of 1896 occasions of cigarette use nested within days and individuals indicated that within-individual variability in positive mood was associated with cigarette use at each occasion, after taking into account baseline levels of nicotine dependence and internalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS: Daily shifts in positive moods are importantly associated with consuming cigarettes throughout the day.

Familial and Special Twin Influences on Cigarette Use Initiation.

BACKGROUND: Shared experiences within families play an important role in the initiation of cigarette use among adolescents. Behavioral genetic studies using various samples have implicated that the shared environment that twins experience is an important source of influence on whether adolescents initiate cigarette use. Whether the special twin environment, in addition to the shared environment, contributes significantly to making twin siblings more similar in cigarette initiation, and whether the influence of the special twin environment persists into adulthood, is less clear. METHODS: Data for this study came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Twin, full-, and half-sibling pairs between the ages of 12 and 33 were separated into three age groups, with about 3,000 individuals in each age group. The proportion of variance in cigarette use initiation explained by genetic, shared, special twin, and unique environmental factors were examined. RESULTS: The results of separate age-moderated univariate variance decomposition models indicate that the special twin environment does not significantly contribute to the variance in cigarette use initiation in adolescence or young adulthood. CONCLUSION: Factors shared by individuals in a family, but that are not specific to being a twin, are important in determining whether adolescents will initiate the use of cigarettes.

Rapporteur summaries of plenary, symposia, and oral sessions from the XXIIIrd World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics Meeting in Toronto, Canada, 16-20 October 2015.

The XXIIIrd World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics meeting, sponsored by the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, was held in Toronto, ON, Canada, on 16-20 October 2015. Approximately 700 participants attended to discuss the latest state-of-the-art findings in this rapidly advancing and evolving field. The following report was written by trainee travel awardees. Each was assigned one session as a rapporteur. This manuscript represents the highlights and topics that were covered in the plenary sessions, symposia, and oral sessions during the conference, and contains major notable and new findings.

Racial differences in heritability of cigarette smoking in adolescents and young adults.

INTRODUCTION: Although epidemiologic studies suggest low levels of cigarette use among African American adolescents relative to White U.S. adolescents, it is not known whether this may be due to racial differences in the relative contribution of genes and environment to cigarette use initiation and progression to regular use. METHODS: Using data from White (n=2665) and African American (n=809) twins and full siblings sampled in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents, we fitted age-, sex- and race-specific variance decomposition models to estimate the magnitude of genetic and environmental effects on cigarette use initiation and cigarette use quantity in Whites and African Americans across adolescence and adulthood. We employ a causal-contingent-common pathway model to estimate the amount of variance explained in quantity of cigarettes smoked contingent on cigarette use initiation. RESULTS: African Americans had lower cigarette use prevalence from adolescence through adulthood, and used cigarettes less heavily than Whites. Race-specific causal-contingent-common pathway models indicate that racial differences in genetic and environmental contributions to cigarette use initiation and cigarette use quantities are not present in adolescence but appear in young adulthood. Additive genetic factors were an important risk factor for cigarette use initiation for White but not African American young adults and adults. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic and environmental contributions for cigarette use are similar by race in adolescence. In adulthood, genes have a stronger influence for cigarette use among White adolescents while the influence of the environment is minimal. For African Americans, both genetic and environmental influences are important in young adulthood and adulthood.

E-Waste Informal Recycling: An Emerging Source of Lead Exposure in South America.

BACKGROUND: Primitive electronic waste (e-waste) recycling creates exposures to several hazardous substances including lead. In Uruguay, primitive recycling procedures are a significant source of lead exposure. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine lead exposure in blood lead levels (BLLs) in low-income children exposed to lead through burning cables. METHODS: A sample of children and adolescents exposed to lead through burning cable activities were assessed at the Department of Toxicology in Montevideo, Uruguay, between 2010 and 2014. Soil lead levels of residences were taken shortly after their assessment. FINDINGS: The final sample included 69 children and adolescents (mean age 7.89 years). More than 66% of participants had an additional source of lead exposure-manual gathering of metals-and <5% were exposed to lead through landfills or paint. Average BLLs at first consultation were 9.19 ug/dL and lower at the second measurement (5.86 µg/dL). Data from soil lead levels ranged from 650 to 19,000 mg of lead/kg of soil. The interventions conducted after the assessment included family education in the clinic and at home, indoor and outdoor remediation. We found a decrease in BLLs of 6.96 µg/dL. Older children had lower BLLs (r = -0.24; P = 0.05). Statistical analyses also showed that children living in areas with higher soil lead levels had significantly higher BLLs (r = 0.50; P < 0.01). Additionally, we found greater BLLs from burning cable activities when children had been exposed to lead-based paint (r = 0.23; P < 0.1). CONCLUSION: Among children exposed to e-waste recycling, the most common additional source of lead exposure was the manual gathering of metals. The average BLL among children and adolescents in this study is higher than the BLLs currently suggested in medical intervention. Future research should focus on exploring effective interventions to reduce lead exposure among this vulnerable group.

Developmental Changes in Genetic and Shared Environmental Contributions to Smoking Initiation and Subsequent Smoking Quantity in Adolescence and Young Adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Few studies examining the genetic architecture of cigarette smoking have focused on adolescents or examined developmental changes in additive genetic, shared environment, and unique environmental influences on liability to initiate cigarette smoking and quantity of cigarettes smoked. The aim of this study was to add to the literature on liability to initiate and use cigarettes during adolescence using a nationally representative sample. METHOD: Data for this study came from adolescent and young adult twin pairs (aged 14-33 years) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We ran a series of developmental causal-contingent-common pathway models to examine whether additive genetic, shared, and unique environmental influences on liability to the initiation of cigarette use are shared with those on smoking quantity, and whether their contributions change across development. RESULTS: We found evidence for a developmental shift in genetic and shared environmental contributions to cigarette use. Early in adolescence, genetic and environmental influences work independently on liability to cigarette smoking initiation and quantity of cigarettes smoked, but liability to these behaviors becomes correlated as individuals age into young adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide insight into the causal processes underlying the liability to smoke cigarettes. With age, there is greater overlap in the genetic and environmental factors that influence the initiation of cigarette smoking and quantity of cigarettes smoked.