Gayatri Kotbagi

Patterns of electronic cigarette use in current and ever users among college students in France: a cross–sectional study

Objective There is sparse information on electronic cigarette use and health behaviours among college student populations. Our objectives were to identify the patterns of electronic cigarette use in current and ever users among college students in France. Design Cross-sectional study. Settings A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted on two major campuses in France. Students filled in an anonymous questionnaire on their use of electronic cigarettes and on targeted behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, binge drinking, use of cannabis, practice of sport and eating disorders. Ever use of electronic cigarettes was defined as use but not during the previous 30 days, and current use of electronic cigarettes as any use in the previous 30 days. The opinions and motivations of electronic cigarette users were also sought and collected. Participants 1134 college students between October 2014 and February 2015. Results The 1134 students included had a mean age of 20.8 years. The prevalence of ever use and current use of electronic cigarettes was 23.0% (95% CI (20.5% to 25.3%)) and 5.7% (95% CI (4.4% to 7.1%)), respectively. The prevalence of the combined use of conventional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes was 14.5%. Almost half (45.8%) of the ever users of electronic cigarettes had never smoked conventional cigarettes. Behaviours associated with ever use of electronic cigarettes were current cigarette smoking (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.97, 95% CI 2.71 to 5.83), former smoking (AOR=2.56, 95% CI 1.42 to 4.61), cannabis use (AOR=2.44, 95% CI 1.70 to 3.51) and occasional binge drinking (AOR=1.83, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.64). The only behaviour associated with current use of electronic cigarettes was conventional smoking, either previously (AOR=4.85, 95% CI 1.53 to 15.34) or currently (AOR=14.53, 95% CI 6.81 to 31.02). Conclusions The ever users have an experimenters profile with sensation-seeking while the current users are mostly smokers with intention to quit smoking. Our findings are crucial for the accurate targeting of student populations at risk and to implement appropriate awareness campaigns and health education programmes.

Early substance consumption and problematic use of video games in adolescence

Substance use as well as use of video games is frequent among young people. The purpose of this research was to study the links between the use of video games and the consumption of various substances such as alcohol, tobacco or cannabis at adolescence. In order to do so, 1423 students from middle and high schools filled an auto-questionnaire that included questions on age, gender, year of study, use of video games and consumptions of alcohol (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test Short version, AUDIT-C), tobacco (Heaviness of Smoking Index, HSI), and cannabis (Cannabis Abuse Screening Test, CAST). We found that 92.1% of teens use video games and 17.7% have a problematic use of video games (PUVG). Furthermore, results show that substance consumption seems frequent with 19.8 and 8.3% of participants having hazardous alcohol and cannabis consumptions respectively and 5.2% having a moderate to high tobacco dependence. Video gamers consumed significantly more alcohol and gamers with PUVG started their substance consumption (alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis) earlier. PUVG was found to be negatively correlated to age at first substance consumption, but positively correlated to the time spent playing video games. However, it was not correlated to risks of substance dependence (scores of AUDIT-C, HSI, and CAST). Finally, our results are consistent with the literature, in regard to frequency of substance use and use of video games in adolescence. These data will allow for a better consideration of prevention strategies and future care in this particular field.

Examination of emotion-induced changes in eating: A latent profile analysis of the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire

It is now recognized that emotions can influence food intake. While some people report eating less when distressed, others report either no change of eating or eating more in the same condition. The question whether this interindividual variability also occurs in response to positive emotions has been overlooked in most studies on Emotional Eating (EE). Using the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) and Latent Profile Analysis, this study aimed to examine the existence of latent emotion-induced changes in eating profiles, and explore how these profiles differ by testing their relations with 1) age and sex, 2) BMI and risk for eating disorders (ED) and 3) factors that are known to be associated with EE such as perceived positive/negative feelings, depression, anxiety, stress symptoms and impulsivity. Among 401 university students (245 females) who completed the EMAQ, 3 profiles emerged (P1:11.2%, P2:60.1%, P3:28.7%), with distinct patterns of eating behaviors in response to negative emotions and situations but few differences regarding positive ones. Negative emotional overeaters (P1) and negative emotional undereaters (P3) reported similar levels of emotional distress and positive feelings, and were at greater risk for ED. However, the people in the former profile i) reported decreasing their food intake in a positive context, ii) were in majority females, iii) had higher BMI and iv) were more prone to report acting rashly when experiencing negative emotions. Our findings suggest that a person-centred analysis of the EMAQ scores offers a promising way to capture the inter-individual variability of emotionally-driven eating behaviors. These observations also add to the growing literature underscoring the importance of further investigating the role of different facets of impulsivity in triggering overeating and to develop more targeted interventions of EE.

Which dimensions of impulsivity are related to problematic practice of physical exercise

Background and aims Problematic practice of physical exercise (PPPE) has been suggested to be a behavioral addiction. Impulsivity represents a core dimension of behavioral addictions. However, little is known about impulsivity facets in PPPE. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of impulsivity facets in PPPE. Methods A total of 684 students (between 18 and 25 years) took part in this study and filled up a battery of questionnaire, which consisted of following measures – Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, Exercise Dependence Scale – Revised, and the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. Multiple regression analyses were utilized to investigate the predictive role of each impulsivity facet in PPPE. Results Age, the total level of physical activity per day, sex (male), negative urgency, and sensation seeking were found to be significant predictors of PPPE. A categorical analysis of PPPE revealed that negative urgency, positive urgency, and sensation seeking were significantly higher in the dependent category of PPPE. Discussion and conclusions Associations to negative urgency and sensation seeking might indicate that PPPE serves to regulate or alleviate negative affect or aversive emotional states. Thus, PPPE could be conceptualized as a short-term coping strategy dedicated to relieving negative affective states, like other maladaptive behaviors such as binge eating, binge drinking, or compulsive buying.

EPA-0134 – Video gaming and gambling: an exploratory study in an adolescent french population

Introduction The notion of gambling fascinates the scientific community for almost thirty years to become today a major concern for health policy. It is a well-known fact that lack of control and excessive gambling can have deleterious effects on the individual. Aim The aim of this study was to compare the use of video games and gambling in a population of 5568 adolescents and young adults in schools, colleges and universities of France. Methods A majority of the sample was female (61.2% vs 38.8% male). We note that 43.4% of the sample is less than 18 years old. We evaluated personality dimensions (anxiety, depression, self-esteem, impulsivity), socio-cognitive variables (cognitive distorsions, life satisfaction) and habits (substance use). Results Our results showed that 6% of children and 3,5% of adults were found to be at risk of gambling according to the Canadian Pathological Gambling Index (CPGI). Correlations between scores on gambling and problematic video game use were 0.29 for children and 0.44 for adults (significant at p 0.05). According to regression analysis, the predictors of problematic use of video games were depression, incapacity to stop (facet of impulsivity) and the score on the CPGI. For pathological gambling, the predictors were: interpretive bias (dimension of cognitive distorsion), substance use (tobacco and cannabis), facets of impulsivity of the UPPS (incapacity to stop, positive urgency and lack of premeditation) and the total score for the problematic use of video game. Conclusion These results are interesting in the adaptation of care for people with gambling problem.

Distorsions cognitives des joueurs de jeux de hasard et d’argent hors ligne et mixtes

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare and trace profiles of individuals who go to casinos, hippodromes, etc. to gamble (offline gamblers) and those who in addition to it, gamble online (mixed gamblers). Method; A total of 608 players responded to a battery of questionnaire. It consisted of; 1) sociodemographic data (gender, age, family situation, education); 2) measures of gambling; 3) alcohol consumption; 4) measures of anxiety end depression and 5) socio-cognitive measures (cognitive distortions and self-confidence). Results: We notice that our population in majority, consists of women (39% men, 60% women) with a mean age of 53 [Agemin: 17 years, Agemax: 76 years, S.D.: 15.97); 55% were married or living together. Only 23.7% (N = 144) of subjects are in/off gamblers. With respect to consumption of alcohol, 31.5% (N = 191) have problems with alcohol; 19.6% (N = 109) are at moderate risk of pathological gambling and 9% N = 55) are pathological gamblers. Mixed gamblers are significantly younger, play more, have higher scores on problematic gambling, are more anxious and have higher levels of alcohol consumption. They also have significantly higher scores on cognitive distortions (particularly on the dimension of predictive control) but on the other hand, have lower levels of confidence with respect to their capacity to stop gambling as compared to offline gamblers. Conclusion: Mixed gamblers are characterized by higher intensity with respect to pathological gambling end cognitive biases. Therefore, special attention should be paid to this fragile population. Some interventional and preventive approaches are proposed in the conclusion section. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved). (journal abstract)