Biomedical subjects

Paula Palmer

Publications and source records attributed to Paula Palmer.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Socio-demographic and cultural comparison of overweight and obesity risk and prevalence in adolescents in Southern California and Wuhan, China.

PURPOSE: This study performed parallel analyses on two large samples of seventh graders living in Los Angeles, California and in Wuhan, China to make direct comparisons of overweight and obesity risks in Western and Eastern cultural environments. METHODS: Two representative samples of 1772 and 1896 seventh grade students were randomly selected from the public or parochial middle schools in the greater Los Angeles area of Southern California in the United States, and public schools in Wuhan city of China. Two body mass index (BMI) references recently established by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), respectively, were used to define overweight (85th < or = BMI < 95th percentile) and obesity (BMI > or = 95th percentile). Logistic regressions were conducted to examine relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity risk. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of combined overweight and obesity in Los Angeles and in Wuhan were 43.1% and 12.1%, respectively, by the US-NCHS reference, and 45.8% and 11.9%, respectively, by the IOTF reference. Chinese-American adolescents had higher prevalence rates for overweight and obesity than those from China. SES was positively related to the risk of overweight and obesity in the Chinese sample, whereas a negative association was found in Southern California adolescents. Urbanicity was significantly positively related to higher overweight and obesity prevalence. CONCLUSION: Different overweight and obesity prevalence estimates and SES effects were observed for American and Chinese adolescent samples. Research on the underlying mechanisms is needed to help us to set up a tailored program for obesity prevention in Eastern and Western cultural environments.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

A randomized intervention of smoking for adolescents in urban Wuhan, China.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use is a significant public health problem in China. Culturally specific smoking prevention programs are needed for Chinese adolescents. This study evaluated a school-based smoking prevention curriculum with a social normative approach developed in the United States for adolescents in urban Wuhan, China. METHODS: As a randomized trial, the intervention was implemented in 1998 with 7th grade students in seven schools with seven matched control schools. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to compare ever and recent (past-month) smoking behaviors for the control and program conditions. RESULTS: At the 1-year follow-up, smoking had increased more rapidly in the control schools than in the program schools. The odds of baseline nonsmokers initiating smoking did not differ between the program and control groups (OR=1.08 with 95% CI=0.71, 1.64). The program prevented progression to recent smoking among boys who were baseline ever smokers. Among boys who were recent smokers at baseline, the prevention program significantly reduced risk of remaining recent smokers at follow-up (OR=0.45 with 95% CI=0.23, 0.88). CONCLUSIONS: This social normative smoking prevention curriculum did not demonstrate a significant primary prevention effect but showed potential for secondary prevention. Culturally specific smoking prevention programs are needed for Chinese adolescents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Influences affecting adolescent smoking behavior in China.

This study examined multiple influences on the use of tobacco by adolescents in China. Using the theory of triadic influences as a guide, we selected interpersonal, attitudinal/cultural, and intrapersonal constructs from baseline data to predict adolescent smoking 1 year later. We used prospective data from middle and high school students (N = 11,583) and their parents from the China Seven Cities Study, a longitudinal study that is evaluating the effects of changing economic and social factors on health behaviors including tobacco use. A multilevel regression analysis provided some support that each of the influences in the theory of triadic influences affects adolescent smoking in China. After adjusting for important confounders including age, gender, socioeconomic status, and smoking behaviors (lifetime and past 30-day) at baseline, we found significant risk factors within each of the three categories, including interpersonal influences (parental monitoring, good friend smoking, and peer smoking), attitudinal/cultural influences (school academic ranking, initial liking of smoking, and the meaning of smoking), and intrapersonal influences (susceptibility to smoking, and low self-confidence to quit smoking). Results suggest that the etiology of smoking among adolescents in China might be similar to that observed in western countries and that some of the techniques used successfully in prevention programs in those countries might be useful guides when developing prevention programs in China.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Cardiorespiratory events detected by home memory monitoring and one-year neurodevelopmental outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if infants with cardiorespiratory events detected by home memory monitoring during early infancy have decreased neurodevelopmental performance. STUDY DESIGN: Infants (n = 256) enrolled in the Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation also completed the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II at 92 weeks' postconceptional age. Infants were classified as having 0, 1 to 4, or 5+ cardiorespiratory events. Events were defined as apnea >or=20 seconds or heart rate <60 to 80 bpm or <50 to 60 bpm, for >or=5 to 15 seconds, depending on age. RESULTS: For term infants, having 0, 1 to 4, and 5+ cardiorespiratory events was associated with unadjusted mean Mental Developmental Index (MDI) values (+/-SD) of 103.6 (10.6), 104.2 (10.7), and 97.7 (10.9), respectively, and mean Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) values of 109.5 (16.6), 105.8 (16.5), and 100.2 (17.4). For preterm infants, having 0, 1 to 4, and 5+ cardiorespiratory events was associated with unadjusted mean MDI values of 100.4 (10.3), 96.8 (11.5), and 95.8 (10.6), respectively, and mean PDI values of 91.7 (19.2), 93.8 (15.5), and 94.4 (17.7). The adjusted difference in mean MDI scores with 5+ events compared with 0 events was 5.6 points lower in term infants ( P = .03) and 4.9 points lower in preterm infants ( P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Having 5+ conventional events is associated with lower adjusted mean differences in MDI in term and preterm infants.

Apnea↗

PubMed2003

Exploring the cultural context of tobacco use: a transdisciplinary framework.

Understanding culture is an essential key to reducing tobacco use. Conceptualizations of culture vary across scientific disciplines and theoretical orientations. Because of the complexity of the causes and effects of tobacco use, no single discipline has sufficient capacity to undertake a comprehensive approach to studying culture and tobacco. Transdisciplinary research offers a means of bridging disciplinary perspectives. This paper reviews epidemiological data on observed variation in smoking patterns across national groups, ethnicities and genders, and presents reasons for studying culture in tobacco control research. We discuss and contrast conceptualizations and specific definitions of culture and identify aspects of each conceptualization that are relevant to research on tobacco. We present a multilevel, multidimensional conceptual framework for transdisciplinary research teams to use to think together about the influence of culture on tobacco and of tobacco on culture. The framework challenges researchers to think about how the sociocultural context influences tobacco use at micro, meso, and macro levels. Finally, we offer suggestions for improving transdisciplinary research on culture and tobacco.

Cultural Characteristics↗

PubMed2003

Evaluating transdisciplinary science.

The past two decades have seen a growing interest and investment in transdisciplinary research teams and centers. The Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURCs) exemplify large-scale scientific collaborations undertaken for the explicit purpose of promoting novel conceptual and methodological integrations bridging two or more fields. Until recently, few efforts have been made to evaluate the collaborative processes, and the scientific and public policy outcomes, of such centers. This manuscript offers a conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating transdisciplinary science and describes two ongoing evaluation studies covering the initial phase of the TTURC initiative. The methods and measures used by these studies are described, and early evaluative findings from the first 4 years of the initiative are presented. These data reveal progress toward intellectual integration within and between several of the TTURCs, and cumulative changes in the collaborative behaviors and values of participants over the course of the initiative. The data also suggest that different centers may follow alternative pathways toward transdisciplinary integration and highlight certain environmental, organizational, and institutional factors that influence each center's readiness for collaboration. Methodological challenges posed by the complexities of evaluating large-scale scientific collaborations (including those that specifically aspire toward transdisciplinary integrations spanning multiple fields) are discussed. Finally, new directions for future evaluative studies of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration, both within and beyond the field of tobacco science, are described.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prior cigarette smoking initiation predicting current alcohol use: evidence for a gateway drug effect among California adolescents from eleven ethnic groups.

Gateway drug theory provides a useful framework for understanding drug use among adolescent populations. Studies have reported a gateway effect of cigarette smoking on alcohol use among adolescents; but there is a lack of knowledge regarding ethnic differences in this effect. Using data from a cross-sectional survey in California, 11,239 subjects (46.3% male) from 31 high schools with at least 25% of total enrollment of Asian and at least 200 students with Asian ancestry entered the analysis. Among them, 6016 were ninth graders (mean age=14.3, S.D.=0.49) and 5223 were twelfth graders (mean age=17.3, S.D.=0.54). After controlling for seven variables, the risk ratio of last 30-day alcohol use among prior smoking initiators vs. noninitiators was 5.82 for non-Hispanic Whites, 4.25 for Blacks, 8.37 for Asian Indians, 3.99 for Chinese, 3.45 for Filipinos, 3.48 for Japanese, 5.41 for Koreans, 7.57 for Vietnamese, 4.02 for Mexicans, 2.64 for South/Central Americans, and 5.95 for adolescents with multiethnic background. Comparison of the 11 ethnic groups indicated that adolescents from different ethnic groups but with similar cultural background had a similar risk level; such pattern existed after controlling for acculturation, parents' monitoring, and school performance. The risk ratio did not differ by gender and grade. There is an association between prior cigarette smoking initiation and current alcohol use among adolescents from different ethnic backgrounds, including those of multiethnicity, which supports the generalizability of gateway drug effect of cigarette smoking on alcohol use. Studies should be conducted to investigate factors attributable to the ethnic variations of this association.

Adolescent↗