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Biomedical subjects

S L Tomar

Publications and source records attributed to S L Tomar.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Trends in smokeless tobacco use among men in four states, 1988 through 1993.

OBJECTIVES: Trends in smokeless tobacco use were examined for men in Indiana, Iowa, Montana, and West Virginia from 1988 through 1993. METHODS: State survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were analyzed. RESULTS: Demographic characteristics associated with smokeless tobacco use included age less than 35 years, a high school education or less, and rural residence. Overall, there was little change in smokeless tobacco use among men in these states (range = -0.4-0.4 percentage points annually); only West Virginia had a significant decline. CONCLUSIONS: Reasons for the overall lack of decline may include increased advertising and promotional expenditures or substitution of smokeless tobacco for cigarettes. Increased prevention and cessation efforts are needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Epidemiology of tobacco use and dependence.

Knowledge of the epidemiology of tobacco use and dependence can be used to guide research initiatives, intervention programs, and policy decisions. Both the reduction in the prevalence of smoking among US adults and black adolescents and the decline in per capita consumption are encouraging. These changes have probably been influenced by factors operating at the individual (e.g., school-based prevention programs and cessation programs) and environmental (e.g., mass media educational strategies, the presence of smoke-free laws and policies, and the price of tobacco products) levels (for a discussion of these factors, see, e.g., refs. 2, 48, 52, 183, and 184). The lack of progress among adolescents, especially whites and males, and the high risk for experimenters of developing tobacco dependence present cause for great concern (48, 183-186). In addition to those discussed above, several areas of research can be recommended. 1. Better understanding of the clustering of tobacco use with the use of other drugs, other risk behaviors, and other psychiatric disorders could better illuminate the causal processes involved, as well as the special features of the interventions needed to prevent and treat tobacco dependence. 2. To better understand population needs, trend analyses of prevalence, initiation, and cessation should, whenever possible, incorporate standardized measures of these other risk factors. Future research should compare the effect of socioeconomic status variables on measures of smoking behavior among racial/ethnic groups in the United States. 3. For reasons that may be genetic, environmental, or both, some persons do not progress beyond initial experimentation with tobacco use (2, 48, 183, 187-192), but about one-third to one-half of those who experiment with cigarettes become regular users (48, 193, 194). Factors, both individual and environmental, that can influence the susceptibility of individuals to tobacco dependence need further attention. 4. To estimate their sensitivity and specificity, comparisons of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicators of dependence with DSM-based criteria are needed. Public health action continues to be warranted to reduce the substantial morbidity and mortality caused by tobacco use (195). A paradigm for such action has been recommended and involves preventing the onset of use, treating tobacco dependence, protecting non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, promoting nonsmoking messages while limiting the effect of tobacco advertising and promotion on young people, increasing the real (inflation-adjusted) price of tobacco products, and regulating tobacco products (186).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Loss of periodontal attachment in HIV-seropositive military personnel.

The cross-sectional relationship between severe loss of periodontal attachment (LPA) and worsening immune status due to HIV infection was evaluated in 474 HIV-infected subjects (416 men, 58 women) aged 18 to 49 years who had been classified at stages 1 through 6 of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WR) Staging Classification System. LPA was measured at four sites per tooth using a manual probe; severe LPA was defined as > or = 1 site/subject exhibiting > or = 5 mm LPA. Severe LPA was found in 94 (20%) of the subjects. Modeling with multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that WR stage and peripheral CD4+ lymphocyte cell counts were not significant independent predictors of severe LPA. Severe LPA was more common in subjects at WR stage 5 or 6 who exhibited oral candidiasis (OC), a marker of immune system damage, than in persons at those WR stages without OC (odds ratio = 7.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.94-31.81). After the analysis controlled for WR stage, younger subjects receiving AZT had greater odds of severe LPA than same-age subjects not taking the drug (e.g., odds ratio for subjects aged 30 years = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.22, 5.49). Other significant predictors in the model included male sex; retired military status; cigarette smoking; and presence of cratered, ulcerated, or necrotic interdental papillae. HIV-associated immune deficiency may be associated with localized severe LPA, but this may be an indirect association due to medication use, opportunistic infection, or other factors not captured by the WR staging system or peripheral CD4+ cell counts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1994

Surveillance for selected tobacco-use behaviors--United States, 1900-1994.

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Surveillance of tobacco use is an essential component of any tobacco-control program. The information gathered can be used to guide research initiatives, intervention programs, and policy decisions. REPORTING PERIODS: This report covers the period 1900-1994 for per capita cigarette consumption; 1965-1991 for trends in cigarette smoking prevalence and cessation; 1974-1991 for trends in the number of cigarettes smoked daily by current smokers; 1987-1991 for recent patterns of tobacco use; 1970, 1987, and 1991 for trends in cigar/pipe smoking and snuff/chewing tobacco use; 1984-1992 for trends in state-specific prevalences of regular cigarette smoking; 1987-1992 for state-specific estimates of smokeless-tobacco use; and 1976-1993 for trends in cigarette smoking among U.S. high school seniors. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEMS: Estimates of cigarette consumption are reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which uses data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Tobacco Institute, and other sources. The National Health Interview Survey uses household interviews to provide nationally representative estimates (for the civilian, noninstitutionalized population) of cigarette smoking and other behaviors related to tobacco use. The Behavioral Risk Factor surveillance System uses telephone surveys of civilian, noninstitutionalized adults (> or = 18 years of age) to provide state-specific estimates of current cigarette smoking and use of smokeless tobacco. The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research uses school-based, self-administered questionnaires to gather data on cigarette smoking from a representative sample of U.S. high school seniors. RESULTS: During the period 1900-1963, per capita cigarette consumption increased; after 1964, consumption declined. During the years 1965-1991, current cigarette smoking prevalence among persons ages > or = 18 years declined overall and in every sociodemographic category examined. Decrease in current smoking prevalence was slow in some groups (e.g., among persons with fewer years of formal education). Both the prevalence of never smoking and the prevalence of cessation increased from 1965 through 1991. The prevalence of current cigarette smoking, any tobacco smoking, and any tobacco use was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives and non-Hispanic blacks and lowest among Asians/Pacific Islanders. The prevalence of cigar smoking and pipe smoking has declined substantially since 1970. The prevalence of smokeless-tobacco use among white males ages 18-34 years was higher in 1987 and 1991 than in 1970; among persons > or = 45 years of age, the use of smokeless tobacco was more common among blacks than whites in 1970 and 1987. Cigarette smoking prevalence has decreased in most states. The prevalence of smokeless tobacco use was especially high among men in West Virginia, Montana, and several southern states. From 1984-1993, prevalence of cigarette smoking remained constant among U.S. high school seniors. However, prevalence increased slightly for male seniors and white seniors, decreased slightly for female high school seniors, and decreased sharply for black high school seniors. INTERPRETATION: With the exceptions of increases in cigarette smoking among white and male high school seniors and in the use of smokeless tobacco among white males ages 18-34 years, reductions in tobacco use occurred in every subgroup examined. This decrease must continue if the national health objectives for the year 2000 are to be reached. ACTIONS TAKEN: Surveillance of tobacco use is ongoing. Effective interventions that discourage initiation and encourage cessation are being disseminated throughout the United States.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of early childhood caries and dietary habits in a population of migrant Hispanic children in Stockton, California.

OBJECTIVE: This study estimated the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) and related behavioral risk factors in a population of low-income, Mexican-American children in Stockton, California. METHODS: We collected data for 220 children ages six years or less using a parent-completed questionnaire and clinical dental examinations during the Su Salud Health and Education Fair in July 1995. We employed five case definitions of ECC: buccal or lingual caries on one or two primary maxillary incisors; caries on any surface of one or two primary maxillary incisors; and five decayed, missing (due to caries), or filled primary teeth. RESULTS: The prevalence of ECC ranged from 12.3 percent to 30.5 percent, depending upon the case definition. More than 17 percent of children age two years had one primary maxillary incisor affected by caries on the buccal or lingual surface; 13.2 percent had two affected. Mean age at weaning from breast--or bottle-feeding and patterns of bottle use during sleep did not differ significantly between children with ECC and those without. There were no clear patterns of cariogenic food frequency and disease status. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings question whether feeding patterns with human breast milk, formula, or bovine milk are sufficient etiologic factors for this condition.

Bottle Feeding↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Microcanals of dentin associated with maxillary primary anterior teeth.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to estimate the prevalence of giant dentin tubules or microcanals in primary maxillary anterior teeth. METHODS: One hundred sixty eight extracted or exfoliated primary maxillary anterior teeth were sectioned and examined by optical microscopy and image analysis. Differences in the proportion of teeth with microcanals among tooth types were tested by using the Pearson chi-square test. RESULTS: Microcanals, having the appearance of enlarged dentin tubules, were found in approximately 20% of primary central and lateral incisors, but were significantly less prevalent (3%) in primary cuspids. Microcanals occurred in a mesial distal axial plane and ran between the DEJ and the pulp chamber. When present they numbered between 1 and 43, with mean numbers of 20 and 16 in central and lateral incisors, respectively. The microcanals ranged in size between 5 and 70 microns, compared to normal dentin tubule diameters of approximately 1 micron. CONCLUSIONS: Microcanals are relatively common in primary maxillary incisors, but uncommon in primary cuspids. Additional work is needed to establish their prevalence in various teeth of both primary and permanent dentition.

Chi-Square Distribution↗