Electronic cigarette and tobacco use in individuals entering methadone or buprenorphine treatment.

BACKGROUND: Although smoking is prevalent among populations with opioid use disorder (OUD), few studies have examined electronic cigarette (EC) use in individuals seeking opioid agonist therapy (OAT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of EC use among individuals seeking OAT. METHODS: 782 patients seeking OAT for OUD completed surveys assessing current and past EC use, reasons for use, current and past cigarette smoking, nicotine dependence, psychiatric distress, trauma, and pain. Bivariate and multivariate models evaluated correlates of daily EC use, past-30-day EC use, and current cigarette smoking. RESULTS: 6% of patients reported daily EC use, 18% reported past-30-day use, 62% reported EC use history, and 85% reported current cigarette smoking. 46% reported using ECs to quit or cut down smoking. In multivariate analyses, daily EC use was associated with higher odds of being a former smoker (OR 21; CI 1.7-273) and lower odds of ever smoking more than 100 cigarettes (OR 0.07; CI 0.01-0.32), while EC use in the past 30 days was associated with lower odds of being Caucasian (OR 0.55; CI 0.34-0.89), ever smoking more than 100 cigarettes (OR 0.13; CI 0.02-0.67), and history of chronic pain (OR 0.59; CI 0.38-0.90), and higher odds of reporting psychiatric distress (OR 1.5; CI 1.1-2.2). CONCLUSIONS: EC use is common among people with OUD who smoke cigarettes. Those with daily use had higher odds of being former smokers than current smokers. Interventions using ECs may be effective to help reduce harms and mortality in OUD.

Variation in symptom distress in underserved Chinese American cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is prevalent in the rapidly growing Chinese American community, yet little is known about the symptom experience to guide comprehensive treatment planning. This study evaluated symptom prevalence and patient subgroups with symptom distress in a large sample of Chinese American cancer patients. METHODS: Patients were consecutively recruited from 4 oncology practices, and they completed a translated cancer symptom scale. Latent class cluster analysis was used to identify subgroups of patients with distinct symptom distress profiles. RESULTS: There were 1436 patients screened; 94.4% were non-English-speaking, and 45.1% were undergoing cancer therapy. The cancers included breast (32.6%), lung (14.8%), head and neck (12.5%), and hematologic cancer (10.1%). Overall, 1289 patients (89.8%) had 1 or more symptoms, and 1129 (78.6%) had 2 or more. The most prevalent symptoms were a lack of energy (57.0%), dry mouth (55.6%), feeling sad (49.3%), worrying (47.5%), and difficulty sleeping (46.8%). Symptoms causing "quite a bit" or "very much" distress included difficulty sleeping (37.9%), a lack of appetite (37.2%), feeling nervous (35.8%), pain (35.2%), and worrying (34.0%). Four patient subgroups were identified according to the probability of reporting moderate to high symptom distress: very low physical and psychological symptom distress (49.5%), low physical symptom distress and moderate psychological symptom distress (25.2%), moderate physical and psychological symptom distress (17.4%), and high physical and psychological symptom distress (7.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Symptom prevalence is high in community-dwelling Chinese American cancer patients, and nearly half experience severe distress (rated as "quite a bit" or "very much" distressing) from physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, or both. These data have important implications for the development of effective symptom control interventions.

A systematic review of smartphone applications for chronic pain available for download in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: A Smartphone app could be useful in aiding patients in self-monitoring and self-managing their chronic pain-related symptoms. The purpose of this study was to systematically review English-language pain-related Smartphone apps available for download in the United States. DESIGN: During July 2012, official Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone Smartphone app platform stores were searched. "Pain" was entered into the search-bar of each Smartphone app store. Of the pain apps meeting inclusion criteria, the following were retrieved: release date, download cost (US dollars [US $], file size, documentation of a healthcare professional's (HCP) involvement in app development, primary purpose of the app (pain education, pain self-management, or a combination of pain education and self-management), targeted pain-related condition(s), and inclusion of features that addressed four common self-monitoring and/or management strategies. RESULTS: Of the 220 apps meeting inclusion criteria, the majority were available through the iPhone (80.0 percent). The cost for downloading each app ranged from US $0.00 to 89.99; however, the majority of apps were ≤US $4.99. There was no evidence of HCP involvement in the development of the majority of apps (65.0 percent). Chronic, nonspecific pain was the focus of half (50.5 percent) of the apps, followed by back and/or neck pain (25.9 percent). The primary purpose of the apps was categorized as follows: pain education (n = 53, 24.1 percent), pain self-management (n = 137, 62.3 percent), and both pain education and self management (n = 30, 13.6 percent). CONCLUSION: Overall, most of the pain-related apps included within our review not only lacked evidence of HCP input regarding development but also contained few evidence-based pain management features.

Ecological momentary assessment of smoking behavior in persistent pain patients.

OBJECTIVES: Smoking is associated with chronic pain and pain-related functional impairment. Some studies suggest that pain activates smoking urges and others suggest that smoking is analgesic. We evaluated these associations using ecological momentary assessment, a method for real-time measurement of health-related phenomena. METHODS: For 1 week, 36 chronic pain patients who smoked a mean of 17.5 (SD=9.4) cigarettes per day completed multiple daily assessments on a handheld computer. RESULTS: The sample included 67% women and 39% whites; 67% had back pain, with an average (SD) worst pain severity during the past week of 8.6 (1.5) on a 0 to 10 numeric rating scale. Patients completed an average (SD) of 44 (24) random assessments. At each assessment, the patient recorded pain "right now" on a 0 to 10 scale, whether he/she was "about to smoke," and if he/she had "just smoked in the past 30 minutes," pain before smoking. After controlling for other significant correlates of pain, patients who were about to smoke had more pain than at other times (M [SD]=6.5 [2.3] vs. 5.2 [2.4]; P<0.01), but pain before and after smoking was not different (M [SD]=6.1 [2.2] vs. 5.9 [2.3]; P=0.18). DISCUSSION: These findings support the hypothesis that smoking behavior is triggered by pain, but smoking is not analgesic. Future studies should clarify potential explanatory mechanisms for this pain-related trigger and evaluate tailored cessation strategies for pain patients.

Randomized trial of a presurgical scheduled reduced smoking intervention for patients newly diagnosed with cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Cancer patients who smoke are advised to quit smoking to reduce treatment complications and future cancer risk. This study's main objective was to evaluate the efficacy of a novel, presurgical cessation intervention in newly diagnosed cancer patients scheduled for surgical hospitalization. METHOD: We conducted a parallel-arm, randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of our hospital-based, tobacco cessation "best practices" treatment model (BP; cessation counseling and nicotine replacement therapy) with BP enhanced by a behavioral tapering regimen (scheduled reduced smoking; BP + SRS) administered by a handheld computer before hospitalization for surgery. Cessation outcomes were short (hospital admission and 3 months) and longer-term (6 months) biochemically verified smoking abstinence. We hypothesized that BP + SRS would be superior to BP alone. One hundred eighty-five smokers were enrolled. RESULTS: Overall, 7-day-point prevalence, confirmed abstinence rates at 6 months for BP alone (32%) and BP + SRS (32%) were high; however, no main effect of treatment was observed. Patients who were older and diagnosed with lung cancer were more likely to quit smoking. CONCLUSION: Compared to best practices for treating tobacco dependence, a presurgical, scheduled reduced smoking intervention did not improve abstinence rates among newly diagnosed cancer patients.reserved).

Frequency, characteristics, and correlates of pain in a pilot study of colorectal cancer survivors 1-10 years post-treatment.

OBJECTIVE: The long-term effects of disease and treatment in colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors are poorly understood. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of pain in a sample of CRC survivors up to 10 years post-treatment. DESIGN: One hundred cancer-free CRC survivors were randomly chosen from an institutional database and completed a telephone survey using the Brief Pain Inventory, Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire-Short Form, Quality of Life Cancer Survivor Summary, Brief Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Fear of Recurrence Questionnaire. RESULTS: Participants were primarily Caucasian (90%) married (69%) males (53.5%) with a mean age of 64.7 years. Chronic pain was reported in 23% of CRC survivors, with a mean moderate intensity rating (mean = 6.05, standard deviation = 2.66) on a 0-10 rating scale. Over one-third (39%) of those with pain attributed it to their cancer or treatment. Chi-square and t-test analyses showed that survivors with pain were more likely to be female, have lower income, be more depressed and more anxious, and show a higher endorsement of suicidal ideation than CRC survivors without chronic pain. On average, pain moderately interfered with daily activity. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain is likely a burdensome problem for a small but not inconsequential minority of CRC survivors requiring a biopsychosocial treatment approach to improve recognition and treatment. Open dialogue between clinicians and survivors about physical and emotional symptoms in long-term follow-up is highly recommended.

Receipt of provider advice for smoking cessation and use of smoking cessation treatments among cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: As the number of cancer survivors increases, the assessment and intervention for smoking among survivors are increasingly important. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the extent to which cancer survivors reported being asked and advised about smoking by health-care providers and their use of smoking cessation treatments during quit attempts. DESIGN: The data were drawn from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, an annual health survey of US adults. PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 1,825 individuals who reported being diagnosed with cancer at least 1 year previously and provided data regarding their current smoking status. MEASUREMENTS: Participants completed items assessing demographics, health and health-care factors, and smoking-related variables. MAIN RESULTS: More than three-quarters of participants (81.0%) reported that their smoking status was known by a health-care provider. Among current smokers (17.6%) who visited a health-care provider in the past year, 72.2% reported being advised to quit smoking by a provider. Factors associated with a higher rate of receiving advice to quit included greater cigarette consumption (P=0.008), more medical comorbidities (P= 0.001), high psychological distress (P= 0.003), and lack of health-care insurance (P = 0.03). Among current smokers who tried to quit in the last year, 33.5% used pharmacotherapy cessation treatment and 3.8% used an evidence-based behavioral treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals considerable missed opportunities for health-care providers to advise cancer survivors about smoking and provide evidence-based interventions. Systematic efforts are needed to increase the provision of smoking cessation advice and use of cessation treatments among cancer survivors.

Not tonight, I have a headache?

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the relationship between the diagnosis of migraine and self-reported sexual desire. BACKGROUND: There is evidence for a complex relationship between sexual activity and headache, particularly migraine. The current headache diagnostic criteria even distinguish between several types of primary headaches associated with sexual activity. METHODS: Members of the community or students at the Illinois Institute of Technology (N = 68) were administered the Brief Headache Diagnostic Interview and the Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI). Based on the revised diagnostic criteria established by the International Headache Society (ICHD-II), participants were placed in 1 of the 2 headache diagnostic groups: migraine (n = 23) or tension-type (n = 36). RESULTS: Migraine subjects reported higher SDI scores, and rated their own perceived level of desire higher than those suffering from tension-type headache. The presence of the symptom "headache aggravated by routine physical activity" significantly predicted an elevated SDI score. CONCLUSIONS: Migraine headaches and sexual desire both appear to be at least partially modulated by serotonin (5-HT). The metabolism of 5-HT has been shown to covary with the onset of a migraine attack, and migraineurs appear to have chronically low systemic 5-HT. As sexual desire also has been linked to serotonin levels, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that migraine and sexual desire both may be modulated by similar serotonergic phenomena.

A preliminary analysis of EMG variance as an index of change in EMG biofeedback treatment of tension-type headache.

The effectiveness of EMG biofeedback training for tension headache has been well established. Previous studies evaluating changes in an average EMG activity score from pre- to posttreatment have not consistently found a relationship between a reduction in average EMG activity and headache improvement at posttreatment. The current study is a preliminary analysis of the utility of EMG variance as another possible mechanism of change. Frontalis EMG average activity and variances from 6 chronic tension-type headache sufferers who demonstrated significant improvement in headache activity at posttreatment (at least 70%) and 6 chronic tension-type headache sufferes who did not demonstrate improvement (less than 30%) were examined across 6 sessions of biofeedback treatment. The improved group demonstrated larger time-specific EMG variance in relation to mean EMG amplitudes during all treatment sessions. A dramatic decline in time-specific variance was observed during the later treatment sessions for improved participants; this pattern was not observed in the group who demonstrated little or no improvement. Results from the current study suggest that the inclusion of both average EMG activity and EMG variance may provide a more comprehensive measure to evaluate possible physiological changes responsible for improvement in headache activity following EMG biofeedback training.