Social class, education, and smoking cessation: Long-term follow-up of patients treated at a smoking cessation unit.

Our objective was to examine social class and educational differences in long-term smoking cessation success among a cohort of smokers attending a specialized smoking clinic. We studied sustained abstinence after cessation among 1,516 smokers (895 men and 621 women) treated for smoking cessation between 1995 and 2001 at a university teaching hospital in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain. We calculated 1-year and long-term (up to 8-year) abstinence probabilities by means of Kaplan-Meier curves and the hazard ratio of relapse by means of Cox regression, after adjusting for other predictors of relapse. Overall abstinence probability was .277 (95% CI = .254-.301). Men and women in social classes IV-V had significant hazard ratios of relapse after long-term follow-up (men: 1.36, 95% CI = 1.07-1.72; women: 1.60, 95% CI = 1.24-2.06), as compared with patients in social classes I-II. The same independent effect was observed for education: Men and women with primary or less than primary studies had higher hazard ratios of relapse (men: 1.75, 95% CI = 1.35-2.25; women: 1.92, 95% CI = 1.51-2.46), as compared with patients with a university degree. Similar estimates were obtained after adjustment for stage of change, Fagerstr?m score for nicotine dependence, and type of treatment. Patients of lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk of relapse, and this association is independent of other well-known predictors of relapse. Social differences have to be taken into account in the clinical setting when tailoring specific actions to treat smoking dependence.     

Survival of biogenic amine‐producing dairy LAB strains at pasteurisation conditions

Biogenic amines (BAs) are low molecular weight organic bases with biological activity, synthesised by the microbial decarboxylation of precursor amino acids such as histidine, tyrosine or arginine. The consumption of food and beverages containing large amounts of BA can have toxicological effects. This paper reports the resistance of aminogenic lactic acid bacteria strains to pasteurisation (63 °C for 30 min). Skimmed milk inoculated with histamine‐ and tyramine‐producing strains of Enterococcus and Lactobacillus was subjected to pasteurisation. The viable number of Enterococcus durans IPLA 655 was reduced by 1 log, while that of Enterococcus faecalis BA64 was reduced by 3 logs. Lactobacillus brevis CECT 3810 did not survive pasteurisation, while the other Lactobacillus strains examined were more resistant; their viable numbers were reduced by about 2 logs. The two most resistant strains, E. durans IPLA 655 and Lactobacillus curvatus VI6, were subjected to higher temperatures. Enterococcus durans was completely inactivated at 78 °C, while some live cells of Lb. curvatus were observed. These results show that some native, metabolically active BA producers could be found in pasteurised milk owing to their resistance to the thermal treatment; their presence could have a negative impact on the final content of BAs in dairy products made from such milk.     

Procyanidin effects on adipocyte-related pathologies

Procyanidins, a class of flavonoids, have clear and well-defined beneficial effects against several pathologies including cardiovascular heart disease. Now, studies in vivo are revealing the effects of procyanidins against obesity, where they prevent weight gain and adipose tissue mass increase, and against diabetes and insulin resistance, where they act as antihiperglycemic agents. Several mechanisms may be responsible for these effects. One of these, due to the key role of adipose tissue in the development of obesity and insulin resistance, is their effect on adipocytes. In this review we compile the studies that indicate a protective role for procyanidins in obesity and insulin resistance, focusing on their effects on the adipocyte, where procyanidins modify lipid synthesis, lipid degradation, glucose uptake, and adipose differentiation.