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T E Novotny

Publications and source records attributed to T E Novotny.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Black-white differences in cigarette smoking uptake: progression from adolescent experimentation to regular use.

BACKGROUND: More U.S. adolescents and young adults have initiated cigarette smoking in recent years. Blacks have been less likely than whites to start smoking, and the gap has widened recently. Reasons accounting for this large black-white difference remain unclear. METHODS: A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed using a cohort of 2,467 adolescent smoking experimenters ages 11-18, within the 1989-1993 Teenage Attitudes and Practices Survey, a nationally representative survey. RESULTS: Among experimenters (1989), 25.7% of whites and 10.3% of blacks had progressed to current smoking (1993). The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of progression for blacks (vs whites) was 0.33 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.23, 0.48]. Adjustment for factors significantly predictive of progression (most parsimonious model) modified the black-white OR to 0.36 (CI 0.24, 0.55), while the full model yielded a black-white OR of 0.39 (CI 0.24, 0.66). CONCLUSIONS: The observed black-white difference in smoking progression was only partly explained by the factors evaluated, and some additional factor(s) must be important. Understanding the black-white difference in the progression from experimentation to current smoking may help prevent uptake among all adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

New ceramics-related industry implicated in elevated blood lead levels in children.

Elevated lead levels have been implicated as a cause of a variety of health problems in children. Blood lead, erythrocyte protoporphyrin, and hemoglobin levels were measured for family members of workers exposed to lead borosilicate dust in a capacitor and resistor plant in Colorado. Previous studies in other lead-related industries have shown an increased risk of lead poisoning among workers' children through exposure to dust brought home on work clothes. Eighty-nine family members of 41 exposed workers were tested along with 62 family members of 30 unexposed comparison households. The mean blood lead level in the family members of exposed workers was significantly elevated compared with that of the unexposed group (10.2 vs. 6.2 micrograms/dl, p = .0001).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of a 24-hour recall diary to assess exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

Methods to assess exposure to environmental tobacco smoke need to be valid and relatively easy to use. We therefore explored the use of a 24-h environmental tobacco smoke exposure-recall diary by comparing data from the 24-h diary with questionnaire responses and levels of salivary cotinine--a biochemical marker of environmental tobacco smoke exposure. A total of 875 nonsmokers at five Rhode Island worksites participated in the study. Twenty-five percent of the participants lived with smokers, and 96% had regular exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at work. Individuals who lived with smokers reported more exposures in the 24-h diary, both outside of work and during work hours, compared with those who had no smokers in their household. The correlation between saliva cotinine concentrations and the exposures recorded in the diary was weak (r = .10). Brief instruments for assessment of environmental tobacco smoke should be viewed cautiously, and use of this 24-h recall diary is not recommended.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Restricting minors' access to tobacco: a review of state legislation, 1991.

Currently, 46 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors, and the minimum age requirement differs by state. In general, these laws are poorly enforced and inadequately prevent youth from obtaining tobacco. According to a four-part classification scheme used in this article, no states have comprehensive laws banning access to tobacco, four states have moderate laws, 37 states and the District of Columbia have basic laws, five states have nominal laws, and the remaining four states have no regulations. We recommend 11 important elements for laws that would adequately restrict minors' access to tobacco products.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quantifying the disease impact of cigarette smoking with SAMMEC II software.

Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs Software, Release II (SAMMEC II) has been developed for the Office on Smoking and Health, Public Health Service, to permit rapid calculation of deaths, years of potential life lost, direct health-care costs, indirect mortality costs, and disability costs associated with cigarette smoking. For the mortality-related measures, age-specific and age-adjusted rates are also calculated. The pivotal epidemiologic measure in these calculations is the smoking-attributable fraction, and attributal risk measure. A multiple-measure approach (attributable mortality and economic costs) to quantifying a health problem is termed "disease impact estimation." Previously, national and State-specific estimates of smoking-attributable mortality and economic costs were calculated using SAMMEC software, the predecessor of SAMMEC II. SAMMEC II is completely menu-driven and operates within the Lotus 1-2-3 software as a set of linked spreadsheets. SAMMEC II adapts national epidemiologic methods for use by State and local health departments. Increased exposure of public health professionals to disease impact estimation techniques, as demonstrated by SAMMEC II, will lead to improvements in both methodology and the quality of smoking-related health data. The primary purpose of SAMMEC II, however, is to provide State or locality-specific data on the health consequences of smoking to policymakers and public health professionals in these jurisdictions.

Cost Allocation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of Giardia lamblia and risk factors for infection among children attending day-care facilities in Denver.

A sample of children in the toddler age group was surveyed in Denver, CO, to determine the prevalence of Giardia lamblia and to identify risk factors for the intestinal disease. The sample consisted of 236 children attending day-care centers (DCC) and 79 who were not attending. Thirty-eight children (16 percent) attending DCCs and 7 (9 percent) who had not were positive for G. lamblia in stool samples. Risk factors for those attending DCC facilities included increasing duration of attendance, time per week attending DCCs, low family income, and large family size. The only risk factor for those not attending DCC facilities was travel to Colorado mountains. Multivariate analysis showed that risk factors for all children in the sample included travel to Colorado mountains, large family size, and attending DCC facilities. Infection was not associated with symptoms.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Methods used to quit smoking in the United States. Do cessation programs help?

Using data from the 1986 Adult Use of Tobacco Survey, we analyzed smoking-cessation methods used by adult smokers in the United States who tried to quit. About 90% of successful quitters and 80% of unsuccessful quitters used individual methods of smoking cessation rather than organized programs. Most of these smokers who quit on their own used a "cold turkey" approach. Multivariate analysis showed that women, middle-aged persons, more educated persons, persons who had made more quit-smoking attempts, and, particularly, heavier smokers were most likely to use a cessation program. Daily cigarette consumption, however, did not predict whether persons would succeed or fail during their attempts to quit smoking. Rather, the cessation method used was the strongest predictor of success. Among smokers who had attempted cessation within the previous 10 years, 47.5% of persons who tried to quit on their own were successful whereas only 23.6% of persons who used cessation programs succeeded. We conclude that cessation programs serve a small, but important, population of smokers that includes heavier smokers, those most at risk for tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The efficacy of two comprehensive perinatal programs on reducing adverse perinatal outcomes.

Through the collaboration among University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health, Samuel Merritt College, and a private nonprofit, community-based medical center, the adequacy of two perinatal programs was assessed based on the pregnancy outcomes of teenaged Medi-Cal clients. Historical data from June 1991 to June 1992 were compiled on the pregnancy outcomes of 312 Medi-Cal clients, 12-18 years of age, delivering at the study medical center in Oakland, California. The effect of enrollment in two special perinatal programs, Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program (CPSP) and a school-based program, the Comprehensive Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Program (CTAPPP), on the occurrence of adverse perinatal outcomes was examined. Adverse perinatal outcomes were defined as the occurrence of one of the following: low birthweight (< 2,500 grams), gestational age less than 37 weeks, or admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), not related to congenital syphilis. The percentage of teens experiencing adverse perinatal outcomes was 10.9% at the study hospital. No significant association was observed between CTAPPP enrollment and reduced adverse perinatal outcomes, but CPSP enrollment was associated with reduced adverse perinatal outcomes. This association persisted after controlling for potential confounders, including substandard prenatal care, which were also found to be risk factors for adverse perinatal outcomes. Enrollment in both programs simultaneously was not associated with a reduction in adverse outcomes. The significant association between CPSP enrollment and reduced adverse perinatal outcomes indicates that a more comprehensive prenatal program may be beneficial in improving birth outcomes, specifically among high-risk teenage populations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A continuing education preference survey of public health graduates.

Continuing education (CE) is a vital component in strengthening the public health work force, and its importance has been emphasized by the Institute of Medicine and the Council for Education in Public Health. A CE preference survey was undertaken of alumni of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health (UCB-SPH). Questionnaires were mailed to a one-third random sample of 1,500 graduates from 1981-1992 who currently reside in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Region IX. A response rate of 57% was achieved. Results of the survey show that CE activities are highly desired among respondents. Overall, 58% of respondents prefer a half-day to one-day seminar format during regular business hours, as opposed to night classes. They prefer a traditional didactic classroom presentation that is within one hour's automobile travel. The optimal setting for CE courses would be at the University of California, Berkeley, or in-house at their institution. Subject areas of interest noted by respondents are health policy development, communication in public health, community involvement, and research. Schools of public health may respond to the CE needs of their alumni through a variety of channels, including the mainstreaming of CE as part of a school's teaching responsibility, special seminars or institutes, extension courses through the larger university system, distance-based learning, and through a separately funded for-profit CE activity.

Adult↗