American journal of preventive medicine
-
Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) can benefit those who use combustible tobacco if they transition completely to ENDS. ENDS can also result in nicotine addiction among nicotine naïve people. ⋯ For every 1 beneficial transition, ENDS use was associated with 2.15 harmful transitions; this ratio ranged from 0.75 to 2.77 in sensitivity analyses. With effective restrictions on ENDS access and marketing for tobacco naïve people, the population benefits of ENDS could outweigh population harms.
-
Lung cancer screening is underutilized, especially in rural areas where lung cancer mortality is high. Approximately 11.2% of the United States (US) population over age 50 meet the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) 2021 lung cancer screening eligibility criteria; the proportion of eligible Veterans is unknown. This study evaluated the proportion of Veterans who are USPSTF-eligible and tested the hypothesis that more USPSTF-2021-eligible Veterans reside in rural versus non-rural areas. ⋯ The proportion of Veterans USPSTF-2021-eligible was nearly three times higher than the general US population (11.2%), and a greater proportion of eligible Veterans resided in rural compared with non-rural areas. These findings are critical for policies aimed at fully implementing lung cancer screening at scale.
-
This study aimed to investigate the patterns of healthcare system utilization before sudden cardiac death (SCD) in Taiwan, and compare the patterns between patients treated at medical centers and non-center hospitals. ⋯ Healthcare utilization significantly increased before SCD, including outpatient visits, ED visits, and hospitalization. This pattern was consistent among patients treated at medical centers and non-medical centers.
-
Persistent racial and ethnic disparities exist for Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. Racial and ethnic minorities have a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, and studies suggest that they engage in less exercise than White population. This study examined whether and to what degree racial differences in Type 2 diabetes were explained by exercise. ⋯ Habitual intentional exercise accounted for one tenth of the racial differences in Type 2 diabetes when comparing Hispanic or Chinese populations with White populations. Interventions promoting exercise are crucial to decrease Type 2 diabetes risk for all racial groups but may also narrow disparities in Type 2 diabetes among Hispanic and Chinese populations.