Identification of Heavy Tobacco Smoking Predictors-Influence of Marijuana Consuming Peers and Truancy among College Students

Abstract

Background: Poorly informed college students tend to adopt the habit of cigarette smoking. This habit often continues into their adulthoods, adversely affecting the population’s health and increasing the burden on healthcare systems. Aim: We aimed at exploring the predictors of the avoidable habit of smoking. We performed an analysis of the correlation between the potential predictors (marijuana use among peers and truancy) and the tobacco smoking statuses of the students. Material and method: Our study sample included 2976 students from colleges in Timis County, Romania, during the 2018–2019 period. The gender distribution of the participants was 62.5% girls and 37.5% boys, between the ages 18 and 25 years. A logistic regression test was performed to determine the impact of some personal and environmental factors, which are responsible for heavy smoking in this population. Results: Our findings suggest that the degree of marijuana smoking among friends and the frequency of college truancy are meaningful predictors of heavy smoking among young adults. The students with higher cigarette smoking rates had significantly more marijuana-smoking friends when compared to the students with average smoking rates. The truancy was higher among the students with higher cigarette smoking rates, compared to the students with average smoking rates.

Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Parameters for Better Management in Rheumatic Diseases

“…We included a study (1) if the abstract was available, (2) if it contained original data, (3) if it used accepted classification criteria for each rheumatic disease, (4) if it discussed all CV risk factors (traditional and/or nontraditional), and/or (5) if it examined cardiovascular prediction models or preventive strategies, and/or (6) if it analyzed management strategies and examined the effects of the drugs available for the treatment and management of CV manifestations.…”

“…Thus, evaluating the prevalence of CV involvement is of great clinical value as a first step towards individual risk delamination and stratification. In patients with systemic rheumatic diseases, the CVD risk is not solely conditioned by the prevalence of traditional CV risk factors, which include age, sex, smoking, family history, dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus [ 5 , 6 ], but, also, by an increased genetic risk, long-term uptake of medications, and chronic inflammation [ 7 ].…”

Comparison of CVD Risk Assessment via Qrisk®2 vs Reynolds Risk Score in Inflammatory Joint Diseases

“…5 The risk of coronary artery disease in an individual with inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus etc., depends on the presence of traditional and non-traditional risk factors of cardio-vascular disease. [6][7][8] The traditional risk factors include tobacco smoking, sex, age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, family history of ischemic heart disease and dyslipidemias 6,7 and the nontraditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease include genetic susceptibility, chronic inflammation and chronic use of medication for disease control. 8 Among the inflammatory joint diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis are known to be associated with an accelerated type of atherosclerosis.…”