INCREASE IN EXPOSURE TO PEER DRINKERS AS A PREDICTOR OF INCREASE IN POSITIVE ALCOHOL EXPECTATIONS IN EARLY ADOLESCENTS

It has been shown repeatedly in studies, and is now widely accepted, that adolescents' expectations about the consequences of using alcohol influence their initiation and continuation of alcohol use. Nevertheless, how expectations about alcohol use develop and change during adolescence has been examined in relatively few studies. That exposure to peer drinkers influences adolescents' expectations has been hypothesized by many researchers, though few have examined this influence. Because alcohol use is common among adolescents and is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality, a better understanding of the relationship between exposure to peer drinkers and change in alcohol expectations among early adolescents' could inform interventions to prevent alcohol use and abuse. This study involved secondary quantitative data analyses using latent growth curve modeling. The data set was from an intervention demonstration project by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, and included longitudinal self-reported data of adolescent drinking, drinking expectations, and peer drinking. To avoid any treatment effect on the research questions, these analyses were conducted using only the non-intervention control group of this data set. The purpose of these analyses was to examine the influence of the increase in exposure to peer drinkers on the increase in positive alcohol expectations. In addition, these analyses examined whether increase in alcohol use indirectly influenced the increase of positive alcohol expectations through the increase in exposure to peer drinkers among early adolescents. Results of the latent growth curve analyses further confirm the influence that positive alcohol expectations have on actual alcohol use as previously reported in the literature. In addition, these analyses provide preliminary evidence that increase in exposure to peer drinkers increases positive alcohol expectations. The analyses also provide preliminary evidence that adolescents' personal use of alcohol influences their alcohol expectations indirectly through increased exposure to peer drinkers

High Prevalence of Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Women Considered Low Risk by Traditional Risk Assessment

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women in the United States. The purpose of this study was to characterize the prevalence and awareness of traditional CVD risk factors, obesity, and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk classification using the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) among women attending the 2006 Sister to Sister National Woman’s Heart Day event. Results: A total of 8936 participants (mean age 49 ± 14 years) were evaluated. There was a modest prevalence of traditional risk factors on screening, including non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) \u3e 160 mg/dL (27%), HDL-C \u3c40 mg/dL (16%), random glucose level \u3e140 mg/dL (6%), uncontrolled blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg (12%), current smoking (6%), and a positive family history of CHD (21%). There was a high prevalence of overweight (39%) or obese individuals (35%) (body mass index [BMI] 25–30 and ≥ 30 kg/m2, respectively), as well as those with high waist circumference (≥35 inches) (55%). Women were classified by FRS as low (85%), intermediate (6%), and high risk (9%). When cardiometabolic risk analyses included waist circumference in addition to the FRS, 59% of low-risk and 50% of intermediate-risk women had 1 or 2 risk factors, and 19% and 41% had ≥ 3 risk factors, respectively. Women were often unaware of risk factors on screening; among women without a previous diagnosis of dyslipidemia or hypertension, 48% and 7%, respectively, were given new diagnoses. Conclusions: Women participating in the 2006 Sister to Sister National Woman’s Heart Day event have a high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors, especially dyslipidemia, obesity, and high central adiposity, that place them at higher risk for the development of CVD and other comorbidities. The newly identified multiple risk factors in this population support the value of community health screening in women