Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2016
Review Meta AnalysisCigarette smoking and testosterone in men and women: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
Recently Health Canada and the Food and Drug Administration warned about the cardiovascular risk of testosterone, making environmental drivers of testosterone potential prevention targets. Cotinine, a tobacco metabolite, inhibits testosterone breakdown. We assessed the association of smoking with testosterone in a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching PubMed and Web of Science through March 2015 using ("testosterone" or "androgen" or "sex hormone") and ("smoking" or "cigarette"). ⋯ In 6 studies of 6089 women, mean age 28-62years, smoking was not clearly associated with testosterone (0.11nmol/L, 95% CI -0.08 to 0.30). Fixed effects models provided similar results, but suggested a positive association in women. Whether products which raise cotinine, such as e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement, also raise testosterone, should be investigated, to inform any regulatory action for e-cigarettes, which emit nicotine into the surrounding air, with relevance for both active and passive smokers.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2016
The association between social media use and sleep disturbance among young adults.
Many factors contribute to sleep disturbance among young adults. Social media (SM) use is increasing rapidly, and little is known regarding its association with sleep disturbance. ⋯ The strong association between SM use and sleep disturbance has important clinical implications for the health and well-being of young adults. Future work should aim to assess directionality and to better understand the influence of contextual factors associated with SM use.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2016
Review Meta AnalysisOrthostatic hypotension and the risk of incidental cardiovascular diseases: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.
To quantitatively estimate the prospective associations between orthostatic hypotension (OH) and cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. ⋯ Presence of OH was independently related to significantly increased risk for incidence of CHD and stroke. Further, studies regarding the mechanisms and potential treatments for OH may be important for understanding whether the associations between OH and cardiovascular diseases are causative.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2016
Assessment of tobacco smoke exposure in the pediatric emergency department.
Tobacco smoke exposure causes significant childhood morbidity and is associated with a multitude of conditions. National organizations recommend tobacco smoke exposure screening at all pediatric clinical encounters. Data regarding tobacco smoke exposure screening in the pediatric emergency department is sparse, although children with tobacco smoke exposure-associated conditions commonly present to this setting. We aimed to determine the frequency and outcome of tobacco smoke exposure screening in the pediatric emergency department, and assess associated sociodemographic/clinical characteristics. ⋯ Despite national recommendations, current tobacco smoke exposure screening rates are low and fail to identify at-risk children. Pediatric emergency department visits for tobacco smoke exposure-associated conditions are common, thus further research is needed to develop and assess standardized tobacco smoke exposure screening tools/interventions in this setting.
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Preventive medicine · Apr 2016
Mode-specific physical activity and leukocyte telomere length among U.S. adults: Implications of running on cellular aging.
Previous research demonstrates that physical activity participation is associated with longer leukocyte telomere length, with shorter leukocyte telomere length being a hallmark characteristic of cellular aging. What remains under-investigated, however, is whether there is a mode-specific association of physical activity on leukocyte telomere length, which was this study's purpose. ⋯ Running-specific physical activity was the only evaluated physical activity associated with leukocyte telomere length, which may provide one potential mechanism (i.e., leukocyte telomere length) through which running-based physical activity may help to prevent cardiovascular disease and premature mortality.