Tobacco Use Trajectories in Young Adults: Analyses of Predictors Across Systems Levels.

INTRODUCTION: Research is needed to examine trajectories of tobacco use beyond cigarette smoking, particularly during emerging middle young adulthood, and to identify distinct multilevel influences of use trajectories. AIMS AND METHODS: We examined (1) tobacco use trajectories over a 2-year period among 2592 young adult college students in a longitudinal cohort study and (2) predictors of these trajectories using variables from a socioecological framework, including intrapersonal-level factors (eg, sociodemographics, psychosocial factors [eg, adverse childhood experiences, depressive symptoms, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms], early-onset substance use), interpersonal factors (eg, social support, parental substance use), and community-level factors (eg, college type, rural vs. urban). RESULTS: About 64.5% were female and 65.0% were white. From age 18 to 26, 27%-31% of participants reported past 30-day use of any tobacco product. We identified four trajectory classes: Abstainers/Dabblers who never or infrequently used (89.2%); Adult users who began using frequently around age 20 and continued thereafter (5.9%); College Smokers who began using before 19 but ceased use around 25 (2.5%); and Teenage users who used during their teenage years but ceased use by 22 (1.9%). Multinomial regression showed that, compared to Abstainers/Dabblers, significant predictors (p < .05) of being (1) Adult users included being male, earlier onset marijuana use, attending public universities or technical colleges (vs. private universities), and living in urban areas; (2) College users included being male, earlier onset marijuana use, and parental alcohol or marijuana use; and (3) Teenage users included only earlier onset marijuana use. CONCLUSION: Distinct prevention and intervention efforts may be needed to address the trajectories identified. IMPLICATIONS: Among young adult college students, the largest proportion of tobacco users demonstrate the risk of continued and/or progression of tobacco use beyond college. In addition, specific factors, particularly sex, earlier onset marijuana use, parental use of alcohol and marijuana, and contextual factors such as college setting (type of school, rural vs. urban) may influence tobacco use outcomes. As such, prevention and cessation intervention strategies are needed to address multilevel influences.

Cigarette use trajectories in young adults: Analyses of predictors across system levels.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking escalates most in early to middle young adulthood. However, little research has examined a range of multilevel factors in relation to smoking trajectories during this time. METHODS: We examined: 1) trajectories of cigarette smoking among 2967 US college students (aged 18-25) in a two-year, six-wave longitudinal study (using growth mixture modeling); and 2) intrapersonal- (i.e., other substance use, depressive symptoms, ADHD symptoms,); interpersonal- (i.e., adverse childhood events, social support, parental tobacco and marijuana use), and community-level (i.e., type of college, rural vs. urban setting) predictors of differing trajectories (using multinomial logistic regression). RESULTS: We identified three trajectory classes: 1) Dabblers, who used cigarettes at one point in their life or not at all (85.6%); 2) College Onset Smokers, who began smoking regularly during the college years (6.2%); and 3) Later Onset Smokers, who began smoking during the mid- to late-20 s (8.2%). Multinomial regression (with Dabblers as the reference group) showed that predictors of being College Onset Smokers included being male (p = .031); Asian (p = .001) but not Black (p = .008; Ref: White); early onset smokers (i.e., initiation before age 15; p = .006); past 30-day users of little cigars/cigarillos (p = .024), alcohol (p < .001), and marijuana (p = .008); children of tobacco users (p = .050); and public (p = .031) or a technical college students (p < .001; Ref: private college); predictors of being Later Onset Smokers were being male (p = .019) and technical college students (p = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Despite some young adults' smoking initiating/escalating in middle young adulthood, few risk factors were documented. This understudied period warrants greater examination to inform intervention.

DECOY: Documenting Experiences with Cigarettes and Other Tobacco in Young Adults.

OBJECTIVES: We examined psychographic characteristics associated with tobacco use among Project DECOY participants. METHODS: Project DECOY is a 2-year longitudinal mixed-methods study examining risk for tobacco use among 3418 young adults across 7 Georgia colleges/universities. Baseline measures included sociodemographics, tobacco use, and psychographics using the Values, Attitudes, and Lifestyle Scale. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to identify correlates of tobacco use. RESULTS: Past 30-day use prevalence was: 13.3% cigarettes; 11.3% little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs); 3.6% smokeless tobacco; 10.9% e-cigarettes; and 12.2% hookah. Controlling for sociodemographics, correlates of cigarette use included greater novelty seeking (p < .001) and intellectual curiosity (p = .010) and less interest in tangible creation (p = .002) and social conservatism (p < .001). Correlates of LCC use included greater novelty seeking (p < .001) and greater fashion orientation (p = .007). Correlates of smokeless tobacco use included greater novelty seeking (p = .006) and less intellectual curiosity (p < .001). Correlates of e-cigarette use included greater novelty seeking (p < .001) and less social conservatism (p = .002). Correlates of hookah use included greater novelty seeking (p < .001), fashion orientation (p = .044), and self-focused thinking (p = .002), and less social conservatism (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Psychographic characteristics distinguish users of different tobacco products.

Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs following exercise-induced muscle injury.

The objective of this article is to examine the use of NSAIDs for attenuating exercise-induced muscle injuries (EIMI), with an emphasis on their safety and usefulness for improving muscle function and reducing soreness. NSAIDs are some of the most widely consumed medications in the world, and NSAID use as therapy for EIMI has increased dramatically over the last 20 years. However, there is a lack of agreement concerning NSAID effectiveness for this purpose. The lack of consensus about the efficacy of NSAID use in relation to EIMI has spawned a recent interest in sports medicine research regarding NSAIDs. The application of a variety of methods used to induce, assess and quantify muscle injury has contributed to the inconsistency among the findings regarding the efficacy of NSAIDs for EIMI. Therefore, future studies should focus on the evaluation of muscle injury and function, with the use of better functional measurement tools and more uniformity in the assessment tools used. However, from review of the current literature, it is concluded that NSAID use for brief periods of time is beneficial for short-term recovery of muscle function and is an important laboratory tool for the study of EIMI.

Descriptive assessment of exercise program on fitness and correlates of participation.

OBJECTIVE: To assess health-related fitness, physical activity correlates, and completion of a half-marathon using a 3-day training program in a college community. METHODS: 26 volunteers participated in a 20-week, half-marathon training program. RESULTS: All participants completed the half-marathon. Positive changes in health-related fitness and psychological correlates associated with future exercise participation were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating strategies that address physical activity correlates and barriers may increase adherence to a program with a challenging goal such as training for a half-marathon. A low-frequency program was sufficient for increasing health-related fitness and psychological factors related to exercise participation of campus community.