Actividad física de adolescentes: implicación de sustancias nocivas, modalidad practicada y familia

Resumen Los objetivos de la investigación fueron: determinar los niveles de práctica de actividad física en adolescentes, consumo de tabaco y alcohol como fenómeno social, establecer qué tipo de actividad y nivel federativo y dictaminar el nivel de AF en los progenitores; y apreciar cómo influye en la práctica de actividad física regular, el consumo de sustancias, el tipo de deporte practicado y el nivel de práctica de padres y madres. Participaronun total de 2.134 adolescentes, empleándose una hoja de autoregistro para las variables: Práctica de AF, Modalidad, Estado Federativo y Nivel de Actividad Física Familiar; el FTND para determinar elConsumo de Tabacoy el AUDIT para elConsumo de Alcohol.Los principales resultados indican que los adolescentes que practican actividad física no consumen habitualmente sustancias nocivas, están influenciadospor parámetros familiares, realizanen mayor medida deportes de tipo colectivo y están federados en ellos.

Prevalence and attitude towards smoking in first, third and fifth-year pharmacy students in Spain: PRECOTABAC study

AIM OF THIS STUDY

The aim of this study is to calculate smoking prevalence among first, third and fifth-year pharmacy students in Spain, and to describe their attitude towards giving up smoking.

METHODS

Cross-sectional multi-center study using an ad hoc self-administered questionnaire in first, third and fifth-year pharmacy students at seven Spanish universities. Bivariate analysis with chi-square and Student's t-test, statistical significance p<0.05.

RESULTS

Smoking prevalence: 34.92%. The smokers smoke 31.04 (SD=43.182) cigarettes/week on average. Pharmacy students have a positive attitude towards giving up smoking, with differences between year groups (p=0.036).

CONCLUSIONS

Four in ten pharmacy students in Spain smoke every day by the time they finish their degree. Smoking prevalence is lower in the first few years of the degree and increases over time. Students also have a positive attitude towards giving up smoking, and are in favor of measures that can be taken to try to stop people smoking.

Assessment of changes in nicotine dependence, motivation, and symptoms of anxiety and depression among smokers in the initial process of smoking reduction or cessation: a short-term follow-up study

Introduction: The first days of a quit attempt represent an important challenge to long-term abstinence, especially because of the changes that take place over this period. Objective: To examine whether smokers who have recently changed their smoking behavior show changes in the intensity of nicotine dependence, motivational stage, or symptoms of anxiety and depression relative to smokers without recent changes in smoking behavior. Methods: Smokers attending a support group for smoking cessation in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, were invited to participate. The program consisted of four weekly sessions. Smokers answered questionnaires covering intensity of nicotine dependence, stage of motivation, and symptoms of anxiety and depression at baseline and in the fourth week. Urine was collected at both time points, tested for cotinine concentration, and used to determine the final status of smokers. Results: Of the 54 smokers included in the study, 20 (37%) stopped smoking or decreased tobacco use. Both smokers who stopped or reduced tobacco use and those who did not change their behavior presented a decrease in nicotine dependence scores (p = 0.001). Conversely, only the smokers who changed behavior presented an increase in scores in the maintenance stage (p < 0.001). Conclusion: When modifying tobacco use, smokers face a difficult process, marked by several changes. A better understanding of these changes and their implications for treatment are discussed.

[Smoking and sleep disorders]

Snoring and sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) are two disorders of considerable relevance due to their high prevalence in the general population and their notable morbidity and mortality, particularly in association with their harmful effects on the cardiovascular system. As well as sex, age, weight, craniofacial malformations, alcohol consumption, and use of hypnotic drugs, it has been suggested that smoking may be a risk factor for developing sleep-disordered breathing. While there is solid evidence for the independent association between snoring and smoking in both children and adults, it is still unclear whether smoking constitutes an independent risk factor for developing SAHS, despite the many studies carried out to assess this link. This is probably because the association, if it exists, is very weak.