Adam M. Lippert

Weight Change and Depression Among US Young Women During the Transition to Adulthood

By using data from wave 2 (in 1996) and wave 3 (in 2000-2001) of the US-based National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we investigated the association between young womens body weight and depression during the transition to adulthood. Respondents (n = 5,243) were 13-18 years of age during wave 2 and 19-25 years of age during wave 3. We used Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale scores to classify young women as never depressed, consistently depressed, experiencing depression onset, or experiencing depression recovery from wave 2 to wave 3. Results from adjusted multinomial logistic regression models indicated that respondents who experienced significant weight gain were at risk of depression onset. Normal weight (adjusted odds ratio = 2.10, 95% confidence interval: 1.14, 3.84) and overweight (adjusted odds ratio = 1.86, 95% confidence interval: 1.15, 2.99) adolescent girls who were obese by young adulthood, as well as young women who were consistently obese during adolescence and young adulthood (adjusted odds ratio = 1.97, 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 3.26), had roughly twice the odds of depression onset as did young women who were never overweight. We concluded that weight gain and obesity are risk factors for depression onset during the transition to adulthood. Policies prioritizing healthy weight maintenance may help improve young womens mental health as they begin their adult lives.

Stuck in Unhealthy Places: How Entering, Exiting, and Remaining in Poor and Nonpoor Neighborhoods Is Associated with Obesity during the Transition to Adulthood

Adolescents from poor versus nonpoor neighborhoods are more likely to become obese during the transition to adulthood. It is unclear whether this pertains to all adolescents from poor neighborhoods or only those who remain in disadvantaged settings. Further, it is unknown how neighborhood poverty entries and exits are associated with obesity. Using census and interview data from 12,164 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health participants, I find that those who consistently live in poor neighborhoods are more likely to become or remain obese by adulthood than those who never live in poor neighborhoods. Exiting severe neighborhood poverty curtails this risk, while entering and remaining in neighborhood poverty in adulthood increases it. These patterns are more pronounced for young women and robust to adjustments for health behaviors and selection bias. Findings support accumulation of risks and social mobility perspectives and highlight how previous and current neighborhood contexts are relevant for health.

An examination of the shift in school-level clustering of US adolescent electronic cigarette use and its multilevel correlates, 2011-2013.

The percent of US high school students reporting use of electronic cigarettes (i.e., e-cigarettes) tripled in recent years. Little is known about the temporal shifts in school-level e-cigarette prevalence or the multilevel correlates of teen e-cigarette use. Using multilevel regression techniques and data from the 2011 and 2013 US National Youth Tobacco Surveys, we investigate how the school-level clustering of e-cigarette use has shifted between 2011 and 2013, whether school-level e-cigarette use is associated with individual-level use, and whether this association is explained by perceptions of harm attributed to e-cigarettes. Results indicate that school-level clustering of pastmonth e-cigarette use increased between 2011 and 2013. Multilevel models show that school-level e-cigarette use is positively associated with individual use, with a small proportion of this relationship explained by perceived harm of e-cigarettes. Our findings suggest that schools could have become more differentiated from each other based on their prevalence of e-cigarette use, and that certain types of school environments facilitate e-cigarette use more efficiently than others.

Temporal Changes in the Correlates of U.S. Adolescent Electronic Cigarette Use and Utilization in Tobacco Cessation, 2011 to 2013

Objective. To examine temporal changes in the correlates of experimental and current e-cigarette use and associations with tobacco quit attempts. Method. Repeated cross-sectional analyses of data from the 2011 (n = 17,741), 2012 (n = 23,194), and 2013 (n = 16,858) National Youth Tobacco Surveys—a nationally representative sample of U.S. middle and high school students. Respondents were asked about lifetime and past-month e-cigarette use, conventional cigarette use, and number of quit attempts made in the prior year among current smokers. Results. Multinomial logistic regression models indicate higher odds of experimental or current e-cigarette use versus abstinence in the 2012 and 2013 survey years (vs. 2011). Respondents in the 2013 survey were more likely to use e-cigarettes in 2012, and they were significantly more likely to be current versus experimental users. Temporal increases in past-month e-cigarette use were uneven across demographic subgroups. Among current smokers of conventional cigarettes, fully adjusted models show that across all survey years the probability of past-month e-cigarette use was not significantly different for those who attempted to quit using tobacco in the past year from those who did not. Conclusions. Adolescent e-cigarette use has become more common between 2011 and 2013 and shows signs of becoming increasingly characterized by current rather than experimental use. Temporal patterns suggest that recent population increases were initially driven by select subgroups (e.g., Whites), with other subgroups contributing to the increase more recently (e.g., Black). Tobacco cessation has remained unrelated to current e-cigarette use over time, suggesting that e-cigarette use may be contributing to increased nicotine use.

Race/ethnicity modifies the association between school prevalence of e-cigarette use and student-level use: Results from the 2014 US National Youth Tobacco Survey

Abstract This study assessed racial/ethnic moderation of the association between school prevalence of lifetime e‐cigarette use and students’ use. Using multilevel regression methods and data from the 2014 US National Youth Tobacco Survey, we found attending schools with high rates of e‐cigarette use was positively associated with students’ lifetime use of e‐cigarettes, especially for white students. A cross‐level interaction term indicated a weaker association between non‐Hispanic black race and attending high‐use schools (odds ratio [OR] =0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] =0.39, 0.95). Results implicate race/ethnicity as an important effect modifier in the link between school contexts and teenage e‐cigarette use. HighlightsSchool level e‐cigarette use is highly predictive of later e‐cigarette initiation.Hispanics and students of other races reported the highest rates of e‐cigarette use.Among high prevalence schools, blacks had lower odds of trying e‐cigarettes compared to whites.Race is an important effect modifier in the link between school context and teen e‐cigarette use.

The persistent clustering of adult body mass index by school attended in adolescence.

Background It is well known that adolescent body mass index (BMI) shows school-level clustering. We explore whether school-level clustering of BMI persists into adulthood. Methods Multilevel models nesting young adults in schools they attended as adolescents are fit for 3 outcomes: adolescent BMI, self-report adult BMI and measured adult BMI. Sex-stratified and race/ethnicity-stratified (black, Hispanic, white, other) analyses were also conducted. Results School-level clustering (wave 1 intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)=1.3%) persists over time (wave 4 ICC=2%), and results are comparable across stratified analyses of both sexes and all racial/ethnic groups (except for Hispanics when measured BMIs are used). Controlling for BMI in adolescence partially attenuates this effect. Conclusions School-level clustering of BMI persists into young adulthood. Possible explanations include the salience of school environments in establishing behaviours and trajectories, the selection of adult social networks that resemble adolescent networks and reinforce previous behaviours, and characteristics of school catchment areas associated with BMI.

Sociodemographic disparities in e-cigarette retail environment: Vape stores and census tract characteristics in Orange County, CA

&NA; Research shows disproportionate availability of tobacco retailers in disadvantaged neighborhoods, but little is known about the neighborhood correlates of e‐cigarette specialty retailers (i.e., “vape stores”). We compiled addresses for all vape stores in Orange County (OC) (n = 174), CA, using a systematic internet search. Using American Community Survey data, we investigated the spatial structure and census tract correlates of vape store count. 23.4% of census tracts had at least one vape store, and those areas had higher percentage Hispanic population. Multivariate zero‐inflated Poisson regressions revealed a higher incidence rate of vape stores in tracts with larger proportions of Hispanics, lower population density, and greater tobacco retailer density, net of other sociodemographic factors and zoning. These results suggest nicotine control initiatives in the age of e‐cigarettes must consider the locational strategies of e‐cigarette retailers, which are more common in Hispanic communities and areas already marked by tobacco retail activity. HighlightsOne‐quarter of census tracts had at least one vape store.Tracts with at least one vape store had a higher percent Asian and Hispanic populations, percent foreign‐born, and tobacco retailer density, and moderate levels of poverty and lower education.When mutually adjusted, larger Hispanic population, lower population density, and greater tobacco retailer density were predictors of higher incidence rate of vape stores.

Vicarious Exposure to Terrorist Attacks and Substance Use: Results from an Urban Household Survey

This study investigated the impact of the 9/11 attacks on substance use in Chicago, Illinois. The study design was a cross-sectional, audio-computer-assisted self-interview survey conducted in 2001 and 2002. Biological samples were also collected for toxicological analyses. Using a multistage area probability design, residents between the ages of 18 and 40 years were randomly selected. Compared to pre-9/11 interviewees, post-9/11 interviewees showed significantly less self-reported marijuana use, marijuana use per test results, and cocaine use per test results. Law enforcement and social–structural explanations for the findings are discussed.