Seroprevalence of hepatitis B in previously undiagnosed patients: A community screening study.

Background: Forty percent of hepatitis B carriers have no knowledge of their diagnosis. A prior study in British Columbia suggested high rates of hepatitis B among immigrants. The authors undertook a large-scale screening study to validate these rates.

Benefit of Capsule Endoscopy in the Setting of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Patients Above Age 65.

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common indication for a capsule endoscopy (CE), which is often offered after a negative bidirectional endoscopy. Since malignancy is a concern in the older population with IDA, upper and lower endoscopic exams are typically performed. If these tests are negative, CE may be offered to evaluate the small intestine.

Inequalities in tobacco outlet density by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, 2012, USA: results from the ASPiRE Study.

Background: Evidence of racial/ethnic inequalities in tobacco outlet density is limited by: (1) reliance on studies from single counties or states, (2) limited attention to spatial dependence, and (3) an unclear theory-based relationship between neighbourhood composition and tobacco outlet density.

Methods: In 97 counties from the contiguous USA, we calculated the 2012 density of likely tobacco outlets (N=90 407), defined as tobacco outlets per 1000 population in census tracts (n=17 667). We used 2 spatial regression techniques, (1) a spatial errors approach in GeoDa software and (2) fitting a covariance function to the errors using a distance matrix of all tract centroids.

Identification of Vape Shops in Two North Carolina Counties: An Approach for States without Retailer Licensing.

Stores that sell electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as their primary product are a new phenomenon and often termed "vape shops". While vape shops are now regulated by state and federal agencies, not all states maintain lists of vape shops in operation. Standard ways of identifying tobacco retailers through off-premise alcohol permits and business listing services may not identify vape shops.

Increased Ratio of Visceral to Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue in Septic Patients Is Associated With Adverse Outcome.

Objectives: Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue may contribute differentially to the septic inflammatory response. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that the ratio of visceral to subcutaneous adipose tissue is associated with altered sepsis outcome.

Design: A retrospective analysis from a cohort of sepsis patients admitted between 2004 and 2009.

Inequities in tobacco retailer sales to minors by neighbourhood racial/ethnic composition, poverty and segregation, USA, 2015.

Objective: Tobacco retailers are an important source of tobacco products for minors. Previous research shows racial discrimination in sales to minors, but no national study has examined neighbourhood correlates of retailer under-age sales.

Methods: We accessed publicly available results of 2015 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections of tobacco retailers (n=108 614).

Raising the Legal Age of Tobacco Sales: Policy Support and Trust in Government, 2014-2015, U.S.

Introduction: The National Academy of Medicine has called for an increase in the minimum age of tobacco product sales. It is not clear what age increase would garner the greatest public support, or whether trust in the U.S.

Identifying Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Search Terminology: A Systematic Review of Health Systematic Reviews.

Research on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations can provide important information to address existing health inequalities. Finding existing research in LGBT health can prove challenging due to the plethora of terminology used. We sought to describe existing search strategies and to identify more comprehensive LGBT search terminology.

"May I Buy a Pack of Marlboros, Please?" A Systematic Review of Evidence to Improve the Validity and Impact of Youth Undercover Buy Inspections.

Most smokers become addicted to tobacco products before they are legally able to purchase these products. We systematically reviewed the literature on protocols to assess underage purchase and their ecological validity. We conducted a systematic search in May 2015 in PubMed and PsycINFO.

Neighborhood Inequalities in Retailers' Compliance With the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, January 2014-July 2014.

Introduction: Retailer noncompliance with limited US tobacco regulations on advertising and labeling was historically patterned by neighborhood in ways that promote health disparities. In 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began enforcing stronger tobacco retailer regulations under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. However, recent research has found no differences in compliance by neighborhood characteristics for FDA advertising and labeling inspections.

Relationship Between Tobacco Retailers' Point-of-Sale Marketing and the Density of Same-Sex Couples, 97 U.S. Counties, 2012.

The reasons for higher rates of smoking among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people than among heterosexual people are not well known. Research on internal migration and neighborhood selection suggests that LGB people are more likely to live in neighborhoods where the tobacco industry has historically targeted their marketing efforts (lower income, more racial/ethnic diversity). We used multi-level models to assess the relationship between the rate of same-sex couples per 1000 coupled households and 2012 marketing characteristics of tobacco retailers (n = 2231) in 1696 census tracts in 97 U.

A Systematic Review of Neighborhood Disparities in Point-of-Sale Tobacco Marketing.

We systematically reviewed evidence of disparities in tobacco marketing at tobacco retailers by sociodemographic neighborhood characteristics. We identified 43 relevant articles from 893 results of a systematic search in 10 databases updated May 28, 2014. We found 148 associations of marketing (price, placement, promotion, or product availability) with a neighborhood demographic of interest (socioeconomic disadvantage, race, ethnicity, and urbanicity).

Single Cigarette Sales: State Differences in FDA Advertising and Labeling Violations, 2014, United States.

Importance: Single cigarettes, which are sold without warning labels and often evade taxes, can serve as a gateway for youth smoking. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products, including prohibiting the sale of single cigarettes. To enforce these regulations, the FDA conducted over 335,661 inspections between 2010 and September 30, 2014, and allocated over $115 million toward state inspections contracts.

Is There a Relationship Between the Concentration of Same-Sex Couples and Tobacco Retailer Density?

Background: Tobacco use is markedly higher among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations than heterosexuals. Higher density of tobacco retailers is found in neighborhoods with lower income and more racial/ethnic minorities. Same-sex couples tend to live in similar neighborhoods, but the association of this demographic with tobacco retailer density has not been examined.

Impact of the adoption of tobacco-free campus policies on student enrollment at colleges and universities, North Carolina, 2001-2010.

Objective: College and university administrators have expressed concern that adoption of tobacco-free policies may reduce applications and enrollment. This study examines adoption and implementation of 100% tobacco-free campus policies by institutions of higher education on applications and enrollment.

Participants: North Carolina private colleges and universities and public community colleges.

Testing warning messages on smokers' cigarette packages: a standardised protocol.

Purpose: Lab experiments on cigarette warnings typically use a brief one-time exposure that is not paired with the cigarette packs smokers use every day, leaving open the question of how repeated warning exposure over several weeks may affect smokers. This proof of principle study sought to develop a new protocol for testing cigarette warnings that better reflects real-world exposure by presenting them on cigarette smokers' own packs.

Methods: We tested a cigarette pack labelling protocol with 76 US smokers ages 18 and older.

Promotion of tobacco use cessation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: a systematic review.

Context: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are at increased risk for the adverse effects of tobacco use, given their high prevalence of use, especially smoking. Evidence regarding cessation is limited. To determine if efficacious interventions are available and to aid the development of interventions, a systematic review was conducted of grey and peer-reviewed literature describing clinical, community, and policy interventions, as well as knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding tobacco use cessation among LGBT people.

Physicians' attitudes and use of e-cigarettes as cessation devices, North Carolina, 2013.

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are not currently approved or recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or various medical organizations; yet, they appear to play a substantial role in tobacco users' cessation attempts. This study reports on a physician survey that measured beliefs, attitudes, and behavior related to e-cigarettes and smoking cessation. To our knowledge this is the first study to measure attitudes toward e-cigarettes among physicians treating adult smokers.

Keeping the Community Posted: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Blogs and the Tobacco Epidemic.

Purpose: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are more likely to use tobacco products than heterosexual people. This results in disproportionate death and disability for LGBT communities. Yet, addressing the tobacco epidemic is generally low on the agenda of LGBT community organizations, and LGBT individuals report lower levels of support for some evidence-based tobacco prevention and control policies than heterosexuals.

A profile of North Carolina lesbian, gay, and bisexual health disparities, 2011.

Objectives: We investigated the health profile of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults in North Carolina, the first state in the South to include a measure of sexual orientation identity in a probability-based statewide health survey.

Methods: Using data from 9876 respondents in the 2011 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, we compared sexual minorities to heterosexuals on a variety of health indicators.

Results: LGB respondents were younger and more likely to be reached by cell phone.

"Real men don't": constructions of masculinity and inadvertent harm in public health interventions.

Research shows that constraining aspects of male gender norms negatively influence both women's and men's health. Messaging that draws on norms of masculinity in health programming has been shown to improve both women's and men's health, but some types of public health messaging (e.g.