Qian Guo

Perceived stress, depression and food consumption frequency in the college students of China seven cities

The aim of the study was to explore the association between perceived stress, depression and food consumption frequency. A self-administered questionnaire that included the perceived stress scale, the depression scale and dietary intake was used in the baseline survey of a cohort study of 2579 local college students over 7 cities in China. Gender and city differences were found in perceived stress scores and depression scores. There were also significant differences among diverse smoking levels and among perceived weight categories in perceived stress and depression scores. Stepwise logistic regression models found that frequency of consumption of fresh fruit, ready-to-eat food and snack food had apparently independent effects on perceived stress, whereas the intake level of fresh fruit, ready-to-eat food and fast food was significantly associated with depression. The link between food consumption frequency, perceived stress and depression suggests that diet intervention may be considered a mediate strategy integrated in psychology prevention program among normal population of the college.

Influences affecting adolescent smoking behavior in China.

This study examined multiple influences on the use of tobacco by adolescents in China. Using the theory of triadic influences as a guide, we selected interpersonal, attitudinal/cultural, and intrapersonal constructs from baseline data to predict adolescent smoking 1 year later. We used prospective data from middle and high school students (N = 11,583) and their parents from the China Seven Cities Study, a longitudinal study that is evaluating the effects of changing economic and social factors on health behaviors including tobacco use. A multilevel regression analysis provided some support that each of the influences in the theory of triadic influences affects adolescent smoking in China. After adjusting for important confounders including age, gender, socioeconomic status, and smoking behaviors (lifetime and past 30-day) at baseline, we found significant risk factors within each of the three categories, including interpersonal influences (parental monitoring, good friend smoking, and peer smoking), attitudinal/cultural influences (school academic ranking, initial liking of smoking, and the meaning of smoking), and intrapersonal influences (susceptibility to smoking, and low self-confidence to quit smoking). Results suggest that the etiology of smoking among adolescents in China might be similar to that observed in western countries and that some of the techniques used successfully in prevention programs in those countries might be useful guides when developing prevention programs in China.

The Qingdao Twin Registry: a focus on chronic disease research.

With the changing patterns of morbidity and mortality in China, noncommunicable chronic diseases have become the major threats to the health of the Chinese population. The causes of chronic diseases include genetic factors and behavioral risk factors such as the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and lack of physical activity. Twin studies offer a unique opportunity to disentangle the genetic and environmental risk and protective factors for chronic disease. The Qingdao Twin Registry (QTR) was initiated in 1998 as part of the National Chinese Twin Registry. Over 11,000 pairs of twins and multiples of all ages have been recruited into the registry. Several studies of physical and mental health are underway. Many of the adult twins have completed health and behavioral risk factor surveys, and the adolescent twins are participating in a study of gene-environment interactions in tobacco and alcohol use. Studies of the heritability of personality factors have been conducted. In 2002, Qingdao established the Qingdao Twin Health Promotion Association, a nonprofit organization that supports health services for twins and their parents, organizes special events and health-related activities for twins, and raises funds to conduct twin health examinations. The QTR will be a useful resource for future studies of population genetics in human health and disease.

Heritability of Smoking, Alcohol Use, and Psychological Characteristics Among Adolescent Twins in Qingdao, China

Background: Previous studies of genetic and environmental influences on adolescent substance use have been limited to Western samples. Methods: This study assesses genetic and environmental contributions to cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and psychological variables (depression, anxiety, aggression, hostility) among 602 pairs of adolescent twins, 11 to 19 years old, in Qingdao, China. Results: Heritable influences were more pronounced for alcohol use than cigarette smoking. In univariate analyses, no heritable effects were found for depression or aggression, and modest heritability was found for anxiety. Hostility was relatively more heritable in girls than boys. Bivariate associations between substance use and psychological measures could be attributed to a combination of common genetic and environmental factors. Conclusions: Among Chinese adolescents, experimentation with tobacco is familial, and experimentation with alcohol is heritable. The genetic and environmental architecture of hostility differs by gender. Consistency of univariate results with Western adolescent samples appears limited to the alcohol use measures.

Family and Personal Protective Factors Moderate the Effects of Adversity and Negative Disposition on Smoking Among Chinese Adolescents

Tobacco use among Chinese adolescents is increasing at approximately 80,000 new smokers per day. Assessing the causes for initiating tobacco use in China will be important in developing effective interventions and policies to stem rising prevalence rates. This study tested predictors of Resilience Theory in a sample of 602 Chinese adolescents. Results revealed that prior adversity, measured through school and family-related events, was significantly associated with increased smoking in females. Family factors (i.e., family cohesion, family adaptability, parental monitoring) and one personal factor (i.e., academic score) were associated with lower odds for smoking due to prior adversity and negative disposition.

Comorbidity Between Depression and Smoking Moderates the Effect of a Smoking Prevention Program Among Boys in China

Smoking prevention programs based on social influences have reduced smoking prevalence among youth. However, these effects have not been replicated consistently. It is possible that individuals and populations with different dispositional and behavioral characteristics will experience different program effects. This study explored a possible moderation of program effect by comorbidity between depression and smoking (CoM). Data for this analysis were from 2,450 seventh-grade youth (51% boys) who participated in the Wuhan (China) Smoking Prevention Trial (WSPT). WSPT was a randomized, controlled, 14-session, middle-school-based smoking prevention trial. Baseline and 1-year follow-up surveys were administered. The moderation effect between the program and CoM was tested on 1-year change in recent smoking. The CoM indicator was defined dichotomously as monthly cigarette use and high in depression level (among the top 20% in the sample). At baseline, a total of 26 girls and 60 boys were identified to have CoM. Among boys (but not girls), CoM significantly moderated the program effect on recent smoking (p = .01). The program effect among boys with CoM was 4.17 (95% CI 1.47-11.76) times larger than those without CoM. Among boys with CoM, the odds ratio of recent smoking was 0.18 (95% CI 0.06-0.55) for program vs. control condition. Among those without CoM, the program did not reduce the odds of recent smoking significantly (OR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.37-1.48). The study demonstrated that smoking prevention program effects can vary with individual characteristics, in this case comorbidity between depression and smoking. These findings may help explain the inconsistency in program effects across studies and populations. The findings also may contribute to the design of future programs to address the needs of defined populations and individuals with specific characteristics.