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Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exposure to tobacco marketing and perceptions of peer tobacco use among college students. Participants: Participants were 5,767 undergraduate students from 19 colleges/universities in the State of Texas. Methods: Students completed an online survey, in the spring of 2016, that assessed past 30 day exposure to e-cigarette, cigar, smokeless tobacco, and traditional cigarette advertising across multiple marketing channels, past 30 day use of each product, and perceived prevalence of peer use. Multi-level linear regression models were run to examine the associations between exposure to tobacco advertising and perceptions of peer tobacco use controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, use and school. Results: Greater exposure to advertising was associated with greater perceived prevalence of peer use. Conclusions: Given the normative effects of advertising on perceived peer tobacco use, college tobacco initiatives should include descriptive norms education to counteract inaccurate perceptions.

Physical and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) among adolescents leads to adverse health behaviors, particularly suicidal ideation and attempts. Studies demonstrated the link between IPV and suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents, yet there is conflicting evidence regarding differences between adolescent males and females; research evaluating the interaction of gender and the association between IPV and suicidal ideation and attempts is limited. The present study used a nationally representative sample from the Youth Behavioral Risk Surveillance questionnaire to determine whether there is an interaction of gender on the relationship between physical IPV, sexual IPV, and suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. Weighted logistic regressions were fit using Stata 15.1 and multiple imputations were used to account for missing data. There is a significant gender by sexual IPV interaction (AOR = 0.66, CI = 0.51–0.84, p = 0.002) such that at low levels of sexual IPV there were no differences between genders in reported suicide attempts (t[33] = 1.19, p = 0.242). However, at moderate and high instances of sexual IPV, adolescent females were significantly less likely than males to report attempting suicide in the past year (t[33] = −2.71, p = 0.011; t[33] = −3.17, p = 0.003, respectively). The present study demonstrates the vital need for IPV and suicidal ideation and attempt screening, tailored multi-level interventions, and advocacy for adolescents. Policies are essential to increase screening among medical providers, and increase school- and community-based interventions and IPV and suicide awareness to decrease rates among adolescents. Female students were more likely than males to report suicidal ideation. Significant interaction between sex and sexual IPV on suicide attempts. Gender differences at medium and high levels of sexual IPV on suicide attempts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Programs aimed at modernizing thyroid care by pairing at-home sample collection methods with telehealth options may serve an important and emerging role in thyroid care., Objective: The primary objective of this analysis was to evaluate telehealth use, demographics, and clinical characteristics of a cohort of consumer-initiated at-home laboratory thyroid test users who were also offered the option of follow-up telehealth consultations., Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of real-world data from a deidentified consumer database of home-collected, mail-in thyroid tests used from March to May 2021 (N=8152). The mean age was 38.6 (range 18-85) years, and 86.6% (n=7061) of individuals identified as female., Results: In total, 7% (n=587) of test takers fell into a thyroid dysfunction category (overt hypothyroidism: n=75, 0.9%; subclinical hypothyroidism: n=236, 2.9%; overt hyperthyroidism: n=5, 0.1%; and subclinical hyperthyroidism: n=271, 3.3%). Overall, 12% (n=984) of the overall sample opted into a telehealth consultation, with 91.8% (n=903) receiving a nontreatment telehealth consultation and 8.2% (n=81) receiving a treatment telemedicine consultation. Furthermore, 16% (n=96) of individuals with overt or subclinical thyroid dysfunction engaged in telehealth consultations. The majority of treatment consultations (59.3%, n=48) were conducted with people reporting a history of thyroid issues, with 55.6% (n=45) of people indicating wanting to discuss their current thyroid medication and 48% (n=39) receiving a prescription medication., Conclusions: The combination of at-home sample collection and telehealth is an innovative model for screening thyroid disorders, monitoring thyroid function, and increasing access to care, which can be implemented at a large scale and across a wide range of age groups., (©Kathleen M Gavin, Daniel Kreitzberg, Yvette Gaudreau, Marisa Cruz, Timothy A Bauer. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 30.05.2023.)