Adverse Childhood Experiences and Use of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to increased use of tobacco products later in life. However, studies to date have ignored smokeless tobacco products. To address this, data from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which interviewed adults 18 years and over (N = 102,716) were analyzed. Logistic regression models were fit to estimate odds ratios of ever smoking, current smoking and current smokeless tobacco use in relation to ACEs. Results showed that less than 4 % of respondents currently used smokeless tobacco products, while 44.95 and 18.57 % reported ever and current smoking, respectively. Physical abuse (OR 1.40; 95 % CI 1.14, 1.72), emotional abuse (OR 1.41; 95 % CI 1.19, 1.67), sexual abuse (OR 0.70; 95 % CI 0.51, 0.95), living with a drug user (OR 1.50; 95 % CI 1.17, 1.93), living with someone who was jailed (OR 1.50; 95 % CI 1.11, 2.02) and having parents who were separated or divorced (OR 1.31; 95 % CI 1.09, 1.57) were associated with smokeless tobacco use in unadjusted models. After accounting for confounders, physical abuse (OR 1.43; 95 % CI 1.16, 1.78), emotional abuse (OR 1.32; 95 % CI 1.10, 1.57), living with a problem drinker (OR 1.30; 95 % CI 1.08, 1.58), living with a drug user (OR 1.31; 95 % CI 1.00, 1.72) and living with adults who treated each other violently (OR 1.30; 95 % CI 1.05, 1.62) were associated with smokeless tobacco use. Living with someone who was mentally ill (OR 0.70; 95 % CI 0.53, 0.92) was associated with smokeless tobacco use after accounting for confounders and all ACEs. Results indicated that some childhood adversities are associated with use of smokeless tobacco products. Special attention is needed to prevent tobacco use of different types among those experiencing ACEs

Abnormal Early Cleavage Events Predict Early Embryo Demise: Sperm Oxidative Stress and Early Abnormal Cleavage

Human embryos resulting from abnormal early cleavage can result in aneuploidy and failure to develop normally to the blastocyst stage. The nature of paternal influence on early embryo development has not been directly demonstrated although many studies have suggested effects from spermatozoal chromatin packaging, DNA damage, centriolar and mitotic spindle integrity, and plasma membrane integrity. The goal of this study was to determine whether early developmental events were affected by oxidative damage to the fertilizing sperm. Survival analysis was used to compare patterns of blastocyst formation based on P2 duration. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrate that relatively few embryos with short (<1 hr) P2 times reached blastocysts, and the two curves diverged beginning on day 4, with nearly all of the embryos with longer P2 times reaching blastocysts by day 6 (p < .01). We determined that duration of the 2nd to 3rd mitoses were sensitive periods in the presence of spermatozoal oxidative stress. Embryos that displayed either too long or too short cytokineses demonstrated an increased failure to reach blastocyst stage and therefore survive for further development. Although paternal-derived gene expression occurs later in development, this study suggests a specific role in early mitosis that is highly influenced by paternal factors