Gebre-Egziabher Kiros

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Cigarette Smoking Initiation and Progression to Daily Smoking: A Multilevel Analysis

OBJECTIVES We sought to identify individual and contextual predictors of adolescent smoking initiation and progression to daily smoking by race/ethnicity. METHODS We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to estimate the effects of individual (adolescent, family, peer) and contextual (school and state) factors on smoking onset among nonsmokers (n = 5374) and progression to daily smoking among smokers (n = 4474) with multilevel regression models. RESULTS Individual factors were more important predictors of smoking behaviors than were contextual factors. Predictors of smoking behaviors were mostly common across racial/ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS The few identified racial/ethnic differences in predictors of smoking behavior suggest that universal prevention and intervention efforts could reach most adolescents regardless of race/ethnicity. With 2 exceptions, important contextual factors remain to be identified.

Barriers to the use of genetic testing: A study of racial and ethnic disparities

Purpose: Racial and ethnic disparities in health are evident among a range of diseases and health care services. New genetic technologies are likely to increase these disparities as access to expensive genetic tests further widens the gap.Methods: Our analysis used data from a national representative sample collected in 2000. The total sample size for our analysis was 1724 men and women (consisting of 946 non-Hispanic whites, 392 Latinos, and 386 blacks) aged 18 to 91 years. Ordered logistic regression and binary logistic regression analysis were applied to investigate differences by race/ethnicity.Results: Results showed significant differences by racial/ethnic groups in knowledge and concerns about the potential misuse of genetic testing. A significant difference was also found between the types of health insurance coverage by race/ethnicity as well as significantly higher levels of mistrust in a physician and the medical system.Conclusion: Our findings raise concern about several barriers among minorities and calls for a development of educational and communication strategies that facilitate in narrowing the gap between racial and ethnic groups.

The Association of Alcohol Consumption with Tobacco Use in Black and White College Students

This study explored the association of alcohol and tobacco use among college students. A survey was administered in 2004 to 2,189 Black and White students from the southeastern United States. The prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use, tobacco use characteristics according to level of alcohol consumed, and percentage of students using tobacco according to type of alcoholic beverages consumed were evaluated. The interaction of race and gender with alcohol and tobacco use was explored. Our findings extend prior investigations that have found alcohol use associated with smoking and suggest attention be paid to the relation of alcohol to other forms of tobacco. Racial and gender differences are highlighted. This study was funded by Mayo Clinic. The studys limitations were noted.

Nondaily tobacco use among Black and White college undergraduates: A comparison of nondaily versus daily tobacco users

Little is known about how the characteristics of college undergraduate nondaily tobacco users compare to daily tobacco users. We conducted a survey to compare the sociodemographic, tobacco use, psychological, and alcohol-related factors between nondaily versus daily tobacco users in a sample of Black and White college undergraduates aged 18–24 years (N = 1623). Of this sample, 301 (18.5%) participants reported using tobacco in the previous 30 days. Of the participants reporting tobacco use in the past 30 days, 50 (16.6%) participants reported nondaily use and 21 (7.0%) participants reported daily use. Findings revealed that nondaily tobacco users were more likely than daily tobacco users to deny that use of tobacco has had a detrimental impact on their health (p < 0.001). Additionally, nondaily cigarette smokers reported a lower level of dependence than daily smokers (p < 0.001). White racial status and daily tobacco use was associated with cigarette smoking (p < 0.05), while Black racial status and nondaily tobacco use was associated with cigar smoking (p < 0.05). Use of more than one type of tobacco product was associated with White racial status (p < 0.05) and male gender (p < 0.001). Our findings expand what is known about undergraduate nondaily tobacco users and provides valuable data for designing interventions for these individuals.