Publications by authors named "Rose M Robertson"

Article Synopsis
  • Smokeless oral nicotine products are addictive and can negatively impact cardiovascular health, particularly in individuals with pre-existing heart or cerebrovascular conditions, and can also increase the risk of oral cancer depending on their chemical composition.
  • The market for these products has rapidly expanded since the last American Heart Association policy, particularly with the rise of tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches, but their health effects remain unstudied.
  • There is a need for strong public policies to help end tobacco addiction, focusing on preventing initiation and promoting cessation through established treatment options.
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Background: Co-use of alcohol and e-cigarettes (often called vaping) has been linked with long-term health outcomes, including increased risk for substance use disorder. Co-use may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Social networking sites may offer insights into current perspectives on polysubstance use.

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Understanding the association between initial experimentation with a tobacco product and subsequent patterns of tobacco use among youth is important to informing prevention activities for youth in the US. We conducted an online survey from August to October 2017 among youth aged 13-18 years. The current analysis focused on respondents reporting initial experimentation with any tobacco product (n = 2,022).

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Article Synopsis
  • Synthetic nicotine in e-cigarettes is often marketed towards youth through social media, exploiting regulatory gaps and appealing flavors.
  • A study analyzed 25 brands over 14 months to assess compliance with FDA health warning requirements on Instagram ads and their impact on user engagement.
  • Results showed only 13% of posts met FDA requirements, and posts with warnings received significantly fewer comments, suggesting that effective health warnings might deter engagement.
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Article Synopsis
  • Smoking and e-cigarette use raise catecholamine levels, which can increase heart rate and blood pressure, potentially heightening cardiovascular disease risk.
  • A study analyzed urinary catecholamines in healthy adults before and after using e-cigarettes or cigarettes, comparing them to non-smokers.
  • Results showed that after using either tobacco product, participants had increased levels of norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine, indicating that both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes affect catecholamine metabolism similarly.
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Objective: To evaluate whether frequent social media use and liking/following tobacco brand accounts was associated with increased risk of tobacco and polytobacco initiation over approximately 1-year follow-up among youth with no prior tobacco use.

Methods: Associations between measures of social media engagement (daily social media use and liking/following tobacco brands) and tobacco initiation risk were examined using data from Waves 2 and 3 (2014-2015) of the US Population Assessment for Tobacco and Health study. Separate log-binomial models, accounting for missing data via multiple imputation and using propensity score adjustment to address confounding, estimated the adjusted relative risk (aRR) of any tobacco initiation and poly-use (2 + products) initiation at 1-year follow-up.

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In 1924, the founders of the American Heart Association (AHA) envisioned an international society focused on the heart and aimed at facilitating research, disseminating information, increasing public awareness, and developing public health policy related to heart disease. This presidential advisory provides a comprehensive review of the past century of cardiovascular and stroke science, with a focus on the AHA's contributions, as well as informed speculation about the future of cardiovascular science into the next century of the organization's history. The AHA is a leader in fundamental, translational, clinical, and population science, and it promotes the concept of the "learning health system," in which a continuous cycle of evidence-based practice leads to practice-based evidence, permitting an iterative refinement in clinical evidence and care.

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Importance: After the initial disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unclear how patterns of e-cigarette use in the US have changed.

Objective: To examine recent patterns in current and daily e-cigarette use among US adults in 2021.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used data from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database.

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Article Synopsis
  • Surveillance of e-cigarette use is crucial for developing and assessing tobacco regulations among different populations.
  • The review identified 13 key epidemiologic surveys in the U.S. that track e-cigarette use, such as the National Youth Tobacco Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
  • Each survey offers unique insights and has specific strengths, but there are also gaps that need addressing for better regulatory outcomes.
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Objective: To determine the prevalence and determinants of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among Hispanic/Latino adults from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

Methods: Cross-sectional data collected between the years 2015-2017 were analyzed to assess ENDS use (ever (current: use ≤ past 30 days; former: use > past 30 days) and never) among 11,623 adults (mean age 47 years±0.3 years; 52% women).

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Among adolescents, sole use is the most common pattern of e-cigarette use. However, concurrent use of e-cigarettes with other tobacco products is not uncommon and may be associated with high-risk behaviors. We used data from 12,767 participants in the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine the patterns of tobacco product use among youth in the US.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how Instagram influencers promote little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs) and whether they include health warnings in their posts.
  • Using a new computer vision algorithm, researchers found that only 8.2% of influencer posts featured health warnings, which are necessary under FDA regulations.
  • Posts with health warnings received significantly less engagement, indicated by fewer likes and comments, highlighting the need for stricter health warning requirements for social media promotions.
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Pod-based electronic (e-) cigarettes more efficiently deliver nicotine using a protonated formulation. The cardiovascular effects associated with these devices are poorly understood. We evaluated whether pod-based e-liquids and their individual components impair endothelial cell function.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how chronic e-cigarette use affects circulating angiogenic cells (CACs), which are important for vascular health and repair.
  • Researchers analyzed 324 healthy participants aged 21-45, categorizing them into four groups based on their tobacco usage: never users, e-cigarette only users, combustible cigarette only users, and dual users.
  • Results show that dual users of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes had the highest levels of CACs related to vascular injury, while sole e-cigarette users also displayed elevated levels related to ongoing systemic harm, indicating that CACs could serve as useful biomarkers for assessing the impact of tobacco on vascular health.
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Background: The impact of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) initial enforcement policy on flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes and subsequent notice for the removal of flavored disposable electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) such as Puff Bar from the market has not been well evaluated.

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Heterogeneity in the clinical presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 progression underscores the urgent need to identify individual-level susceptibility factors that affect infection vulnerability and disease severity. Tobacco product use is a potential susceptibility factor. In this Personal View, we provide an overview of the findings of peer-reviewed, published studies relating tobacco product use to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 outcomes, with most studies focusing on cigarette smoking in adults.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A total of 994,307 adults participated, with diverse demographics including various racial and ethnic backgrounds.
  • * The prevalence of current e-cigarette use increased from 4.4% in 2017 to 5.5% in 2018, then showed a slight decline in subsequent years, with changes analyzed based on participant characteristics and state of residence.
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Article Synopsis
  • Smoking increases the risk of severe complications in COVID-19 patients, including higher chances of death and the need for mechanical ventilation.
  • A study analyzed data from over 31,000 hospitalized adults, comparing smokers and non-smokers to assess outcomes related to COVID-19 severity.
  • Results showed that current smokers had significantly greater adjusted odds of death (41% increase) and major cardiovascular events, highlighting the negative impact of smoking on COVID-19 severity.
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Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use is highly prevalent among young adults. However, longitudinal data assessing the association between e-cigarette use and respiratory symptoms are lacking. To determine whether e-cigarette use is associated with the development of respiratory symptoms in young adults.

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Studies reporting clinical symptoms related to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) usage, especially types of devices and e-liquids, are sparse. The sample included 1,432 current ENDS users, ages 18-64, from a nationwide online survey conducted in 2016. ENDS use included device types, nicotine content, flavors, and e-liquid used.

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Article Synopsis
  • The increase in cannabis vaping among US adults from 2017 to 2019 is notable, with usage rising from 1.0% to 2.0%, especially in young adults aged 18-24, where it jumped from 1.2% to 3.9%.
  • Cannabis vaping is associated with higher chances of risky behaviors like heavy drinking and nicotine vaping but not linked to asthma or other respiratory issues after adjusting for various factors.
  • The trends indicate a growing concern regarding cannabis vaping's potential risks, particularly for young adults, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring of health effects.
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Vaping is popular among adolescents. Previous research has explored sources of information and influence on youth vaping, including marketing, ads, family, peers, social media, and the internet. This research endeavors to expand understanding of peer influence.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined fasting blood glucose and lipid profiles in chronic users of combustible and electronic cigarettes, focusing on participants aged 21 to 45 years without cardiovascular disease or risk factors.* -
  • Results indicated that both combustible cigarette users and sole electronic cigarette users had higher glucose and triglycerides, as well as lower HDL cholesterol compared to never users, while dual e-cig users had worse lipid profiles.* -
  • Interestingly, pod-based electronic cigarette users showed similar metabolic profiles to never users, suggesting that different types of electronic cigarettes may have varying impacts on cardiometabolic health.*
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