The relationship between smoking, cholesterol, and HDL-C levels in adult women

The purpose of this study was to determine the independent relationship between smoking quantity and cholesterol (TC) and lipoprotein levels (HDL-C) in women. A total of 805 female subjects were grouped as: non-smokers, ex-smokers, light smokers, moderate smokers, and heavy smokers. TC and HDL-C were examined before and after controlling for the coexisting risk factors of age, body composition, fitness level, dietary fat intake, family history of coronary artery disease, oral contraceptive, and alcohol use. Preliminary analysis demonstrated significant differences (p < .01) in TC between heavy smokers and all other groups and significant differences in HDL-C between heavy to moderate smokers and ex- and non-smokers. After adjusting for confounding variables, the differences in TC and HDL-C remained unchanged between the groups. It was concluded that heavy to moderate smoking was independently associated with higher TC and lower HDL-C levels, and that smoking abstinence or smoking cessation may be associated with healthier lipoprotein profiles in adult women. Based on these findings, it was recommended that employers consider the provision of health promotion programs including seminars, behavioral modification workshops, as well as financial incentives for employees to stop smoking.     

The synergistic effect of smoking and serum cholesterol on coronary heart disease.

Reviews the evidence of a synergistic interaction effect of smoking and elevated serum cholesterol on coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and mortality. Methodological issues involved in assessing smoking status, serum cholesterol, and CHD are discussed, and evidence is presented to support the notion that, in part, serum cholesterol, like smoking, is an index of a behavioral risk factor. Such a synergistic interaction is determined to exist, although improvements in methodology are needed to more clearly identify its magnitude. Studies demonstrating that serum cholesterol can be modified by dietary changes and studies exploring the interaction between smoking and cholesterol are evaluated. Possible mechanisms by which smoking and cholesterol may interact to produce CHD are considered. It is suggested that, if smoking cessation and dietary modification behavioral treatments are focused specifically on young and middle-age Americans who smoke and have elevated serum cholesterol, such treatments may increase their effectiveness in lowering the risk of CHD (benefit) without necessarily increasing their effort (cost). (5 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Italian style brewed coffee: effect on serum cholesterol in young men

BACKGROUND: Increases in blood lipids have been observed in humans when coffee is brewed by the boiling method. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if giving up Italian coffee might reduce blood cholesterol levels. METHODS: Eighty-four normolipidaemic young adult males, after a 3-week baseline (BL), were randomly assigned to three different regimens of coffee consumption: espresso (E), mocha (M), and no coffee, but tea (T). The average coffee consumption during intervention (I) was 3.1 +/- 1.2 and 2.8 +/- 1.1 cups per day for espresso and mocha group respectively (espresso: 25-35 ml/cup; mocha: 40-50 ml/cup). Total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were measured eight times during the study. Dietary pattern, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, drug use, and anthropometric data were also recorded. RESULTS: The changes observed in serum cholesterol concentration between baseline and intervention were not statistically different in all groups. The changes were 0.0 mmol/l (T), +0.01 mmol/l (E) and +0.05 mmol/l (M) for total serum cholesterol; 0 mmol/l (T), -0.02 mmol/l (E) and -0. 03 mmol/l (M) for HDL-C; -0.13 mmol/l (T), +0.02 mmol/l (E) and -0. 05 mmol/l (M) for LDL-C. Serum triglycerides showed a significant increase during intervention (P < 0.01 by ANOVA) in all groups with a change of 0.18 mmol/l, 0.18 mmol/l and 0.22 mmol/l, for tea, espresso and mocha group respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that coffee brewed in the Italian way does not alter blood levels of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, since no significant differences were observed in these blood parameters after a 6-week break from coffee consumption.     

The relationship between body weight concerns and adolescent smoking.

Although a number of factors have been found to predict smoking status among adolescents, few researchers have examined how belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy may be related to smoking in this high-risk population. With the goal of discovering whether belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy predicted smoking status, the present investigation surveyed 659 Black and White high school students. Analyses showed that among regular smokers, 39% of White female and 12% of White male smokers reported using smoking to control their appetite and weight. Although belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy did not predict regular smokers versus never smokers, the weight-belief item reliably separated experimental smokers from regular smokers. The survey also revealed that White female restrained eaters were the most likely to actually use smoking as a weight-control strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between body mass and cigarette smoking using a biochemical index of smoking exposure

This study evaluated the relationship between smoking and body mass using objective indices of both smoking exposure (COHb) and body mass. The subjects were 4240 adults who participated in the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II). Measurements of dietary intake, physical activity, demographics, body mass index (BMI) and blood carboxy-haemoglobin (COHb) were used in these analyses. After controlling for covariables of body mass, the results indicated that smokers displayed a significantly lower mass compared with non-smokers. Smokers with higher levels of COHb had lower BMIs than smokers at lower COHb levels. White smokers had lower BMIs with increasing COHb exposure whereas black smokers had BMIs at high COHb exposure similar to those of non-smokers. Results indicated that smokers weighed less than non-smokers and that the weight control 'benefits' of smoking were most pronounced in white subjects who were heavy smokers.     

Gallstone prevalence in relation to smoking, alcohol, coffee consumption, and nutrition. The Ulm Gallstone Study

BACKGROUND: Besides considering well-known risk factors for the development of gallbladder stones, such as age, sex, fecundity, and hereditary predisposition, efforts at prevention have focused increasingly on other factors, such as nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine consumption, as well as general nutrition, which may be modified. METHODS: A total of 1116 blood donors were examined between April 1994 and February 1995 in the central blood bank of the German Red Cross in Ulm, Germany. Each subject received a questionnaire and underwent to an upper abdominal ultrasound examination. RESULTS: Gallbladder stone disease (current cholecystolithiasis and history of cholecystectomy) was detailed in 5.8% of the men and 6.3% of the women. Neither regularity nor number of daily meals correlated with the frequency of gallstone disease. Vegetarians (n = 48), as a group, were not found to have gallstones. In relation to the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine higher prevalence of cholecystolithiasis was found only in heavy drinkers of coffee (P = 0.051; odds ratio (OR), 1.083; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.999, 1.174). CONCLUSION: Results of the present study do not show a definite relationship between nutritional factors and the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine and an increased prevalence of gallbladder stone disease.     

The relationship between cigarette smoking and the risk of endometrial neoplasms

A series of therapeutic and educational workshops were conducted with women nursing home residents with the twin goals of improving self-esteem and self-reliance, and facilitating community building and networking. Alongside these workshops were nursing home staff trainings whereby staff were encouraged to articulate their needs and those of resident women in productive ways.     

The relationship between religious activities and cigarette smoking in older adults

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between religious activities and cigarette smoking in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Cigarette smoking and religious activities were assessed in a probability sample of 3968 persons age 65 years or older participating in the Duke Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) survey. Participants were asked if they currently smoked, if they ever smoked, and how many cigarettes per day they smoked. Attendance at religious services, participation in private religious activities (prayer or Bible study), and use of religious media (religious TV or radio) were also assessed. Data were available for Waves I-III of the survey (1986, 1989, and 1992). Analyses were controlled for age, race, sex, education, alcohol use, physical health, and in the longitudinal analyses, smoking status at prior waves. RESULTS: Cross-sectional analyses revealed that participants who frequently attended religious services were significantly less likely to smoke cigarettes at all three waves. Likewise, elders frequently involved in private religious activity were less likely to smoke (Waves II and III). Total number of pack-years smoked was also inversely related to both attendance at religious services and private religious activities. Watching religious TV or listening to religious radio, on the other hand, was not related to smoking at Waves I and II nor to total pack-years smoked, but was positively related to current smoking at Wave III. Among those who smoked, number of cigarettes smoked was inversely related to frequency of attendance at religious services (Wave I), private religious activities (Wave III), and religious TV/radio (Waves II and III). Retrospective and prospective analyses revealed that religiously active persons were less likely to ever start smoking, not more likely to quit smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Religiously active persons are less likely to smoke cigarettes, and if they do smoke, smoke fewer cigarettes. Given the association between smoking and disease, and the widespread prevalence of both smoking and religious activity, this finding has implications for public health.     

Passive smoking, active smoking, and education: their relationship to weight history in women in Geneva

OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to determine the relationship of education and tobacco smoke to lifetime weight history in women. METHODS: Information on passive smoking, active smoking, and weight history was collected from 928 women aged 29 to 74 years selected from the general population of Geneva, Switzerland. Multivariate analysis of variance was performed for weight, weight at age 20, and weight changes since age 20. RESULTS: Education was inversely related to weight at age 20, current weight, and weight gain since age 20. The least educated group had a current weight of 4 kg more than the most educated group. Differences across smoking categories were small: passive smokers had the highest current weight (63.4 kg) and former active smokers had the lowest (60.4 kg). Weight gain since age 20 tended to be smaller in former and current active smokers (5.5 to 7.2 kg) than in passive smokers (8.3 to 10.4 kg) and those never exposed (9.1 kg). CONCLUSIONS: In this sample, education was an important predictor of women's current weight and weight history. Passive and active smoking had little long-term effect on weight.     

Transfer of cholesterol and lecithin between erythrocytes and serum in vitro

1. In human blood incubated in vitro, the transfer of free cholesterol and lecithin from erythrocytes to serum was not related to glycolytic activity in erythrocytes or esterification of cholesterol in serum. 2. The stability of free cholesterol concentration in serum was dependent on the activity of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.43), and the stability of lecithin concentration in erythrocytes, on glycolytic activity.     

The relationship between self-efficacy and reductions in smoking in a contingency management procedure.

Social–cognitive and behavioral theories of change disagree on what the relevant controlling variables for initiating behavior change are. Correlations between baseline smoking cessation self-efficacy and the changes in breath carbon monoxide (CO) and the reduction in breath CO and increases in smoking cessation self-efficacy from baseline were obtained from a contingency management smoking cessation procedure. A test of the difference between the cross-lag correlations suggested a nonspurious causal relationship between smoking cessation self-efficacy and changes in breath CO. Path analyses showed that decreases in breath CO (reductions in smoking) predicted later increases in smoking cessation self-efficacy. Baseline self-reports of smoking cessation self-efficacy were not significantly correlated with subsequent changes in breath CO. Rather, significant correlations were found between reductions in breath CO and later increases in smoking cessation self-efficacy. These results suggest that self-efficacy may be a cognitive response to one’s own behavior, and are inconsistent with a social–cognitive view of self-efficacy’s role in behavior change. Implications for the development of smoking cessation programs and health-promoting behavior changes in general are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between in-treatment abstinence and post-treatment abstinence in a smoking cessation treatment.

Previous research has indicated that abstinence early in a smoking cessation program is predictive of successful posttreatment abstinence. However, it has not been established whether or not this effect is independent of other in-treatment abstinence patterns. In this paper the relationship between three potentially important aspects of in-treatment smoking abstinence and posttreatment smoking abstinence are examined: early abstinence, extended abstinence, and end-of-treatment abstinence. We examined the relationship between smoking behavior measured each weekday over 70 visits (approximately 14 weeks) of a contingency management smoking cessation program and at a follow-up visit 6 months after study entry (3 months after the scheduled end of treatment). Ninety-five of 102 participants were successfully followed-up. Seven of these 95 participants were confirmed abstinent. Early abstinence, defined as abstinence during the first 10 treatment visits, was significantly and independently related to follow-up abstinence (OR = 56.67 [7.29–440.63]). Extended abstinence and end-of-treatment abstinence were related to follow-up abstinence, but not independent of early abstinence based on multiple regression models. Inclusion of a variety of demographic and environmental characteristics did not significantly alter this relationship. Thus, consistent with the previous literature, the establishment of early abstinence appears to be crucial to establishing longer-term abstinence, independent of other in-treatment abstinence patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cigarette smoking, alcohol, tea and coffee consumption and pancreas cancer risk: a case-control study from Opole, Poland

A population-based, case-control study of pancreas cancer was undertaken in Opole, Poland, within the framework of the SEARCH Programme of the International Agency for Research on Cancer: this is the first aetiological study of pancreas cancer reported from Poland where the reported mortality rate has doubled since 1963. This study of pancreas cancer has provided some further supporting evidence of an association between increased pancreas risk with increasing levels of cigarette smoking. The risk rose with increasing lifetime cigarette consumption with a trend which was weakly significant (p = 0.061). Findings regarding lifetime tea and coffee consumption were not consistent with intake of either beverage increasing the risk of this disease. There was a strongly significant trend of decreasing risk with increasing lifetime consumption of tea (p < 0.001), which was also apparent when the analysis was restricted to subjects who were interviewed directly. For coffee consumption, which is low in Poland, there was also a negative association apparent in the data which was not statistically significant among the sub-set of subjects who were directly interviewed. The findings regarding alcoholic beverages were overall null, although the weakly positive trend in risk with spirits consumption (p = 0.71) may deserve further investigation in view of the special nature of the source of spirits (vodka) in Poland.     

Family history of smoking and young adult smoking behavior.

Compared the smoking behavior and smoking-related beliefs of 816 young adult smokers who did and did not have a family history of cigarette smoking (FHS). Those with an FHS smoked more cigarettes in a typical day, smoked for more years, perceived themselves as more addicted to cigarettes, had more positive beliefs about the psychological consequences of smoking, and reported stronger pleasurable relaxation motives and stimulation motives for smoking compared with their peers who had no FHS. Thus, smokers with an FHS were more committed smokers and viewed smoking as having more positive psychological benefit than did their peers without an FHS. Such individual differences may be mediated through both social–environmental and genetically influenced mechanisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between smoking and body weight in a population of young military personnel.

Evidence indicates that middle-aged smokers weigh less than nonsmokers and that smoking cessation reliably produces weight gain, but recent studies have questioned the weight control "benefits" of smoking in younger populations (the time that people typically initiate smoking). The relationship between smoking and body weight was evaluated in all U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training recruits during a 1-year period (n?=?32,144). Those who smoked prior to Basic Military Training (n?=?10,440) were compared to never smokers or experimental smokers. Results indicated that regular-current smoking had no relationship to body weight in women (p? >?.05) and a very small effect in men (p?     

The temporal relationship between emotional distress and cigarette smoking during adolescence and young adulthood.

Empirical evidence regarding the causal nature of the relationship between emotional distress and tobacco use in male and female adolescents provides support for both the distress-to-use and the use-to-distress hypotheses. Using a cross-lagged model with 3 waves of data from 2,961 adolescents followed into young adulthood, the authors tested the hypothesis that this relationship changes over time. As hypothesized, emotional distress in Grade 10 was associated with increased smoking in Grade 12 for both boys and girls. Smoking in Grade 12 was in turn associated with increased emotional distress in young adulthood. The addition of 3 third factors (rebelliousness, deviance, and family problems) to the model did not alter the results. Results suggest that the relationship between tobacco use and emotional distress is a dynamic one in which distress initially leads to use but then becomes exacerbated by it over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The natural history of cigarette smoking: Predicting young-adult smoking outcomes from adolescent smoking patterns.

Assessed the magnitude of risk that adolescent cigarette smoking carries for adult smoking, using longitudinal data from 4,156 Ss surveyed originally during Grades 6–12 and followed up after completion of high school. Even infrequent experimentation (i.e., smoking only a few cigarettes) in adolescence significantly raised the risk for adult smoking by a factor of 16 compared to nonsmoking adolescents. Relative risk was also increased by early onset of smoking and by a stable, uninterrupted course from experimentation to regular smoking. Data support the importance of primary prevention programs directed at adolescent populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between the volume of antimicrobial consumption in human communities and the frequency of resistance

The threat to human health posed by antibiotic resistance is of growing concern. Many commensal and pathogenic organisms have developed resistance to well established and newer antibiotics. The major selection pressure driving changes in the frequency of antibiotic resistance is the volume of drug use. However, establishing a quantitative relationship between the frequency of resistance and volume of drug use has proved difficult. Using population genetic methods and epidemiological observations, we report an analysis of the influence of the selective pressure imposed by the volume of drug use on temporal changes in resistance. Analytical expressions are derived to delineate key relationships between resistance and drug consumption. The analyses indicate that the time scale for emergence of resistance under a constant selective pressure is typically much shorter than the decay time after cessation or decline in the volume of drug use and that significant reductions in resistance require equally significant reductions in drug consumption. These results highlight the need for early intervention once resistance is detected.