Association Between Cardiovascular Health and Subclinical Atherosclerosis Among Young Adults Using the American Heart Association's "Life's Essential 8" Metrics.

Background: This study investigated the association of American Heart Association's cardiovascular health guidelines Life's Essential 8 (LE8) and Life's Simple 7 (LS7) with carotid artery outcomes among young adults.

Methods And Results: This cross-sectional study included 240 young adults (age 24.2±1.

Childhood Air Pollution Exposure Associated with Self-reported Bronchitic Symptoms in Adulthood.

Few studies have examined the effects of long-term childhood air pollution exposure on adult respiratory health, including whether childhood respiratory effects underlie this relation. To evaluate associations between childhood air pollution exposure and self-reported adult bronchitic symptoms while considering child respiratory health in the Southern California Children's Health Study. Exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone, and particulate matter <2.

When a birth cohort grows up: challenges and opportunities in longitudinal developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) research.

High-quality evidence from prospective longitudinal studies in humans is essential to testing hypotheses related to the developmental origins of health and disease. In this paper, the authors draw upon their own experiences leading birth cohorts with longitudinal follow-up into adulthood to describe specific challenges and lessons learned. Challenges are substantial and grow over time.

E-cigarettes, Cigarettes, and the Prevalence of Adolescent Tobacco Use.

Background: Adolescent e-cigarette use has increased rapidly in recent years, but it is unclear whether e-cigarettes are merely substituting for cigarettes or whether e-cigarettes are being used by those who would not otherwise have smoked. To understand the role of e-cigarettes in overall tobacco product use, we examine prevalence rates from Southern California adolescents over 2 decades.

Methods: The Children's Health Study is a longitudinal study of cohorts reaching 12th grade in 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2014.

The E-cigarette Social Environment, E-cigarette Use, and Susceptibility to Cigarette Smoking.

Purpose: One concern regarding the recent increase in adolescent e-cigarette use is the possibility that electronic (e-) cigarettes may be used by those who might not otherwise have used cigarettes, and that dual use, or transition to cigarette use alone, may follow.

Methods: Questionnaire data were obtained in 2014 from 11th/12th grade students attending schools in 12 communities included in the Southern California Children's Health Study. We evaluated the cross-sectional association between e-cigarette use, the social environment (family and friends' use and approval of e-cigarettes and cigarettes), and susceptibility to future cigarette use among never cigarette smokers (N = 1,694), using previously validated measures based on reported absence of a definitive commitment not to smoke.

Patterns of Alternative Tobacco Product Use: Emergence of Hookah and E-cigarettes as Preferred Products Amongst Youth.

Purpose: There is a growing public health concern related to the rapid increase in the use of multiple tobacco products among adolescents. This study examined patterns of adolescent use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars/cigarillo, hookah/waterpipe, and smokeless/dip/chewing tobacco in a population of southern California adolescents.

Methods: Data from 2,097 11th- and 12th-grade participants in the Southern California Children's Health Study were collected via self-report in 2014.

Psychosocial Factors Associated With Adolescent Electronic Cigarette and Cigarette Use.

Background: Use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among adolescents has increased since their introduction into the US market in 2007. Little is known about the role of e-cigarette psychosocial factors on risk of e-cigarette or cigarette use in adolescence.

Methods: Information on e-cigarette and cigarette psychosocial factors (use and attitudes about use in the home and among friends) was collected from 11th- and 12th-grade participants in the Southern California Children's Health Study during the spring of 2014.