Association of psychological distress with smoking cessation, duration of abstinence from smoking, and use of non-combustible nicotine-containing products: A cross-sectional population survey in Great Britain

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking cessation is associated with improvements in mental health. This study assessed psychological distress, using the K6 non-specific screening tool ((items cover feelings of nervousness, hopelessness, restlessness, depression, ‘everything an effort’ and worthlessness), by smoking status, time since quit, and use of a non-combustible nicotine product. METHODS: Monthly repeat cross-sectional household survey of adults (18 + ) from October 2020–February 2022 in Great Britain (N = 32,727). Using unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression (adjusted models included socio-demographic characteristics and ever diagnosis with a mental health condition), we assessed: associations between any/serious past-month psychological distress and smoking status and time since quit, whether these relationships were moderated by ever diagnosis with a mental health condition, and associations between distress and use of a nicotine product by people who formerly smoked. RESULTS: In the unadjusted model, those who had not smoked for > 1y and who had never smoked had lower odds of any distress (OR = 0·42, 95 % CI 0·39-0·45; OR = 0·44, 0·41-0·47) compared with those who currently smoked. Moreover, the association of lower distress in those who had not smoked for > 1y and never smoked compared with those who currently smoked was more pronounced among those who had ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition (AOR = 0·58, 0·51-0·66; AOR = 0·60, 0·53-0·67) than among those who had not (AOR = 0·86, 0·76-0·98; AOR = 0·72, 0·65-0·81). In adjusted models of people who formerly smoked, current use of any nicotine product was associated with higher odds of distress compared with not using any nicotine product (AOR 1·23, 1·06-1·42)

Early antenatal prediction of gestational diabetes in obese women: development of prediction tools for targeted intervention

All obese women are categorised as being of equally high risk of gestational diabetes (GDM) whereas the majority do not develop the disorder. Lifestyle and pharmacological interventions in unselected obese pregnant women have been unsuccessful in preventing GDM. Our aim was to develop a prediction tool for early identification of obese women at high risk of GDM to facilitate targeted interventions in those most likely to benefit. Clinical and anthropometric data and non-fasting blood samples were obtained at 15+0–18+6 weeks’ gestation in 1303 obese pregnant women from UPBEAT, a randomised controlled trial of a behavioural intervention. Twenty one candidate biomarkers associated with insulin resistance, and a targeted nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolome were measured. Prediction models were constructed using stepwise logistic regression. Twenty six percent of women (n = 337) developed GDM (International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups criteria). A model based on clinical and anthropometric variables (age, previous GDM, family history of type 2 diabetes, systolic blood pressure, sum of skinfold thicknesses, waist:height and neck:thigh ratios) provided an area under the curve of 0.71 (95%CI 0.68–0.74). This increased to 0.77 (95%CI 0.73–0.80) with addition of candidate biomarkers (random glucose, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fructosamine, adiponectin, sex hormone binding globulin, triglycerides), but was not improved by addition of NMR metabolites (0.77; 95%CI 0.74–0.81). Clinically translatable models for GDM prediction including readily measurable variables e.g. mid-arm circumference, age, systolic blood pressure, HbA1c and adiponectin are described. Using a ≥35% risk threshold, all models identified a group of high risk obese women of whom approximately 50% (positive predictive value) later developed GDM, with a negative predictive value of 80%. Tools for early pregnancy identification of obese women at risk of GDM are described which could enable targeted interventions for GDM prevention in women who will benefit the most

Evidence review of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products 2018: a report commissioned by Public Health England.

The report covers e-cigarette use among young people and adults, public attitudes, the impact on quitting smoking, an update on risks to health and the role of nicotine. It also reviews heated tobacco products. The main findings of PHE’s evidence review are that: • vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits • e-cigarettes could be contributing to at least 20,000 successful new quits per year and possibly many more • e-cigarette use is associated with improved quit success rates over the last year and an accelerated drop in smoking rates across the country • many thousands of smokers incorrectly believe that vaping is as harmful as smoking; around 40% of smokers have not even tried an e-cigarette • there is much public misunderstanding about nicotine (less than 10% of adults understand that most of the harms to health from smoking are not caused by nicotine) • the use of e-cigarettes in the UK has plateaued over the last few years at just under 3 million • the evidence does not support the concern that e-cigarettes are a route into smoking among young people (youth smoking rates in the UK continue to decline, regular use is rare and is almost entirely confined to those who have smoked

The impact of knowledge type on the acquisition of wine

An important question facing both wine marketing scholars and practitioners is which wine consumers are more likely to engage in exploratory purchasing of wine? Does gender, age, education level and level of wine consumption matter? Is exploratory wine purchasing behavior dependent on a consumer's subjective (imagined) or objective (real) knowledge of wine? These are the issues that we explore in this paper.peer-reviewe

The Effect of Tobacco Control Mass Media Campaigns on Smoking-Related Behavior Among People With Mental Illness: A Systematic Literature Review

ntroductionTobacco control mass media campaigns (MMCs) can be effective generally, but little is known about their effects among people with mental illness. The objectives of this study were to systematically review: (1) Whether tobacco control MMCs affect smoking-related outcomes among people with mental illness. (2) Cost-effectiveness.Aims and MethodsData sources: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library (searched March 2021), reference lists of included articles and relevant systematic reviews. Study eligibility criteria: Population: Adults with mental illness and experience of smoking tobacco and/or using other nicotine-containing products. Intervention/exposure: Tobacco control MMC messages. Comparator: No exposure, other tobacco control intervention(s), no comparator. Primary outcome: Changes in quitting behaviors. Study design: All primary research. Quantitative data were appraised using the EPHPP tool, qualitative data using CASP’s Studies Checklist. Data were synthesized narratively.ResultsEight studies were included, seven were at high risk of bias. There was inconclusive evidence of the effect of MMCs on quit attempts and intentions to quit among people with mental illness. Increasing advertisement exposure did not increase quit attempts or intentions to quit among those with mental illness, however, increased exposure to an advertisement that addressed smoking and mental health did. None of the studies assessed cost-effectiveness.ConclusionsFindings should be interpreted with caution as data are limited and of low or moderate quality. There is evidence to suggest that tobacco control MMCs have limited impact on those with mental illness, although campaigns that are specific to smoking and mental health may be effective.ImplicationsThere is a paucity of good-quality evidence of the effect of tobacco control MMC messages among people with mental illness. Careful consideration should be given to the design of future studies that evaluate MMCs in order to minimize the risk of bias, establish causality, and ensure the findings reflect real-world implementation. Further research should examine the need for MMC messages that address mental health

Characterization of the neural stem cell gene regulatory network identifies OLIG2 as a multifunctional regulator of self-renewal

The gene regulatory network (GRN) that supports neural stem cell (NS cell) self-renewal has so far been poorly characterized. Knowledge of the central transcription factors (TFs), the noncoding gene regulatory regions that they bind to, and the genes whose expression they modulate will be crucial in unlocking the full therapeutic potential of these cells. Here, we use DNase-seq in combination with analysis of histone modifications to identify multiple classes of epigenetically and functionally distinct cis-regulatory elements (CREs). Through motif analysis and ChIP-seq, we identify several of the crucial TF regulators of NS cells. At the core of the network are TFs of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), nuclear factor I (NFI), SOX, and FOX families, with CREs often densely bound by several of these different TFs. We use machine learning to highlight several crucial regulatory features of the network that underpin NS cell self-renewal and multipotency. We validate our predictions by functional analysis of the bHLH TF OLIG2. This TF makes an important contribution to NS cell self-renewal by concurrently activating pro-proliferation genes and preventing the untimely activation of genes promoting neuronal differentiation and stem cell quiescence.Welcome Trust grants: (WT095908, WT098051), FEBS Long-Term Fellowship, Medical Research Council Grant-in-Aid (U117570528)

Mental health nurses' attitudes towards the physical health care of people with severe and enduring mental illness: The development of a measurement tool

Background: It is well established that people with schizophrenia and related serious mental illnesses die prematurely and have significantly higher medical co-morbidity compared with the general population. Mental health nurses have a key role in improving the physical health of patients but their attitudes to this aspect of their role have not been systematically examined. Objectives: To develop and validate a measure of mental nurses’ attitudes towards physical health care. Design: The measurement tool was developed from a literature review, focus groups and responses to a postal questionnaire. Participants and setting: All registered nursing staff working within a NHS mental health trust in the UK were sent the questionnaire and 585 (52%) staff responded. Methods: Completed questionnaires were analysed by standard descriptive statistical methods. Exploratory factor analysis (principal component analysis) was used to examine and reduce attitude items to a coherent and parsimonious scale. Results: A 28-item measure comprised of four factors accounted for 42% of the variance. The factor solution appeared to provide meaningful dimensions, and the internal consistency of the measure and of its derived subscales was adequate (Cronbach’s alpha between 0.76 and 0.61). The factors were labelled nurses’ attitudes to involvement in physical health care; nurses’ confidence in delivering physical health care; perceived barriers to physical health care delivery and nurses’ attitudes to smoking. Validity was established by associations between the total scale and subscales with pre-determined respondent variables. Conclusion: The Physical Health Attitude Scale for mental health nurses (PHASe) is a first attempt to develop a valid and reliable measure of this important area. The initial development methods and its testing in a large sample provide indications of content and construct validity. Further testing in different samples and consequent refinement are necessary, however the PHASe appears to be a useful tool for measuring attitudes among this professional group and evaluating the effects of professional development

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine