Social media and use of electronic nicotine delivery systems among school-going adolescents in a rural distressed Appalachian community

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Social media use to discuss ENDS among youth in distressed areas is understudied.

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Nearly 1 in 3 and 1 in 8 of youth were ever and current ENDS users, respectively.

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Nearly 1 in 5 of the youth reported using social media to talk about ENDS.

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Social media increased current and ever ENDS use by 4 and 3 times, respectively.

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Social media engagement may lead to ENDS uptake among youth in distressed areas.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are the most used tobacco products among middle and high schoolers in the United States (U.S.). Familial relations and access play a major role in uptake among adolescents; yet the role of social media in this phenomenon in the context of communities impacted by tobacco-related health disparities is understudied. In Spring 2019, data were collected from adolescents in 8th and 9th grades in a school located in a rural distressed county in Tennessee to assess social media’s role in ENDS uptake. Descriptive and multivariable statistical analyses were performed to delineate factors associated with ENDS use. Of a total of 399 respondents, 12.5 % reported current ENDS use and 22.1 % indicated having ever discussed ENDS on social media. Closed messaging platforms (Snapchat) and video platforms (Facebook/Instagram/You Tube) were the most reported form of social media used (8.31 % and 8.31 % respectively). Social media use was positively associated with both ever ENDS use (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9) and current ENDS use (OR = 3.98). Parental advice against ENDS use was positively associated with ever ENDS use. In conclusion, social media use was positively associated with both ever and current ENDS use, and Snapchat was the most popular platform among this population of students. The results indicate that youth social media engagement may lead to exposure that can influence ENDS uptake. Future studies are needed to further examine these associations among distressed communities.

Examining the association between international migration and colorectal cancer among multiple ancestry groups in the United States

Objectives: Prior research has not adequately examined the relationship between international migration and colorectal cancer (CRC) by cultural regions in the US. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine how annual CRC incidence varied with US annual international migrant inflow in ten different regions, corresponding to dominant ancestry group.Design: County-level international migrant inflow and dominant ancestry type were obtained from the American Community Survey, and age-adjusted CRC incidence was obtained from the National Cancer Institute. A linear regression model was tested for each ancestry region to assess the relationship between migrant inflow and CRC incidence.Results: Higher international migrant inflow was associated with lower CRC incidence among counties where the dominant ancestry group was African American (p = 0.0207), British (p = 0.0212), Hispanic (p = 0.0001), and Native American (p = 0.0056).Conclusions: These findings suggest that US residents in certain ancestry groups are at higher risk for CRC.