The interacting effects of depression symptoms and sweet flavoring on the rewarding and reinforcing value of cigarillo use among young adults.

Background: Young adults 18-24 years old have the highest prevalence of cigarillo use, exposing young adults to comparable or higher nicotine levels and many of the same toxicants as combustible cigarettes. Identifying individual and product characteristics that increase the potential for persistent use is warranted. We sought to examine the interacting effects of depression symptoms and sweet flavoring on the rewarding and reinforcing value of cigarillo use. Methods: 86 young adults (18-24 years old, 73.3 % male, 38.4 % White, 33.7 % Black, and 27.9 % Other) completed three laboratory visits assessing the subjective rewarding value (exposure paradigm), relative reinforcing value (computerized choice task), and absolute reinforcing value (ad libitum cigarillo smoking session) of sweet-flavored versus non-flavored cigarillos. Depression symptoms were measured with the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression Scale and treated as a continuous variable. Results: General linear models with the appropriate family link tested differences in depressive symptomology for each outcome. Irrespective of flavor, greater cigarillo subjective reward was reported across increasing depressive symptomology (B=.0.03 [95%CI=0.00, 0.05], p=.017). Across symptom levels, no significant differences were observed in the subjective reward and relative and absolute reinforcing values of sweet-flavored versus non-flavored cigarillos (p's >.05). Conclusions: Young adults with elevated depression find cigarillos more rewarding but not more reinforcing. They are not more vulnerable than young adults with lower symptom levels to sweet cigarillo flavoring. Public health prevention campaigns and tobacco product regulations aimed at preventing the initiation and escalation of young adult cigarillo use may impact young adults broadly.

Effect of sweet flavouring on the rewarding and reinforcing value of cigarillo use among young adults.

INTRODUCTION: Cigarillos dominate the US cigar market, and young adults largely drive use. While young adults prefer flavoured to non-flavoured cigarillos, especially those flavoured to taste like fruit or other sweets, the factors that underlie this preference have received little attention. We sought to determine if key indicators of abuse liability, the rewarding and reinforcing effects, are greater for sweet versus non-flavoured cigarillos. METHODS: Young adults (18-24 years old) completed three laboratory visits assessing the subjective rewarding value (exposure paradigm), relative reinforcing value (computerised choice task) and absolute reinforcing value (ad libitum cigarillo smoking session) of sweet-flavoured versus non-flavoured cigarillos. General linear regression models were fit with the appropriate family link for each outcome measure. RESULTS: Young adults rated sweet-flavoured cigarillos as more rewarding (estimated marginal mean (EMM) =4.52, 95% CI 4.00 to 5.03) than the non-flavoured cigarillo (EMM=3.31, 95% CI 2.80 to 3.83; B=1.20, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.60, p<0.001). The reinforcing value of sweet-flavoured cigarillos, measured by break point, was higher relative to non-flavoured cigarillos (6.34 out of 10), especially among young adults with a preference for flavoured cigarillos (B=1.94, 95% CI 0.71 to 3.18, p=0.003). Young adults took 1.9 times the number of puffs (35.75 vs 19.95) from sweet-flavoured cigarillos compared with non-flavoured cigarillos (Rate Ratio =1.94, 95% CI 1.30 to 2.90, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Sweet flavouring increases the abuse liability of cigarillos among young adults as reflected in greater liking, motivation to use and actual use. Banning sweet flavouring in cigarillos may diminish their use in young adults.Trial registration number CT.gov (NCT05092919).

Behavioral activation for smoking cessation and the prevention of smoking cessation-related weight gain: A randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Post-cessation weight gain (PCWG) is an obstacle to smoking cessation. This trial evaluated a behavioral intervention targeting alternative rewards to smoking and high calorie snacking to promote smoking cessation while mitigating PCWG. METHODS: Adult smokers (n = 288; 119 females, 169 males) received eight weeks of transdermal nicotine and were randomized to eight sessions of behavioral activation for smoking cessation and the mitigation of PCWG (BAS+) or standard smoking cessation counseling (SC). Primary outcomes were 7-day point prevalence abstinence and PCWG 26 weeks after the target quit date. Change in caloric intake from pre-treatment through the 26-week follow-up was a secondary outcome. Data were collected from September 2016 to February 2021, and analyses were completed in July 2022. RESULTS: BAS+ and SC did not differ in smoking abstinence rates at the 26-week follow-up (OR=0.80, 95%CI 0.50-1.27, p = 0.34; 18% versus 23%). There were no significant differences in PCWG between BAS+ and SC who were 7-day point prevalence abstinent (ß = -0.29, 95%CI -2.13 to 1.65, p = 0.77; 2.60 versus 2.20 pounds, respectively) or among those continuously abstinent (5.78 versus 5.34 pounds, respectively). There were no significant differences in caloric intake between BAS+ and SC from baseline to the 26-week follow-up (ß = 110.65, 95%CI -96.72 to 318.02, p = 0.30; -19.1 versus -116.9 kcals/day, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results do not support the efficacy of BAS+ for smoking cessation and the prevention of PCWG. These findings join a growing body of research highlighting the challenge of minimizing PCWG and promoting smoking abstinence.

Mental healthcare on college campuses during COVID-19: Comparing telehealth, in-person, and hybrid modes of delivery.

Objective: During COVID-19, many colleges offered mental health services to their students through telehealth or through a combination of telehealth and in-person (hereby hybrid) services. This study examines the experiences and perceptions among students who received telehealth, hybrid, or in-person services. Participants: Data was collected from the Healthy Minds Survey, a national survey of college students, during Fall 2020 and Spring/Winter 2021 (n = 13,976). Methods: Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were conducted to examine how students who received campus mental health services through different modes of delivery differed in reported barriers to care, satisfaction with care, and perceived support. Results: Students receiving in-person services differed from students receiving telehealth or hybrid services on multiple metrics. For example, they were less likely to be satisfied with the quality of therapists or the ability to schedule appointments without long delays. However, effect sizes were small. Conclusion: There may be unique strengths to telehealth and hybrid services.

Cariogenic and oral health taxa in the oral cavity among children and adults: A scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: To review published oral microbiome studies and create a comprehensive list of bacterial species found in saliva and dental plaque among healthy children and adults associated with presence of carious lesions and caries-free state (oral health). DESIGN: This review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We searched published studies querying PUBMED and EMBASE using the following keywords: (plaque OR saliva) AND caries AND (next generation sequencing OR checkerboard OR 16s rRNA or qPCR). Studies were limited to human studies published in English between January 1, 2010 and June 24, 2020 that included > 10 caries-active and > 10 caries-free participants, and assessed the entire bacterial community. RESULTS: Our search strategy identified 298 articles. After exclusion criteria, 22 articles remained; we considered 2 studies that examined saliva and plaque as separate studies, for a total of 24 studies. Species associated with caries or oral health varied widely among studies reviewed, with notable differences by age and biologic sample type. No bacterial species was associated with caries in all studies. Streptococcus mutans was found more frequently among those with caries (14/24 (58.3 %)) and Fusobacterium periodonticum was found more frequently among those that were caries-free (5/24 (20.8 %)). CONCLUSION: No bacterial species was associated with caries or oral health across all studies supporting multiple pathways to cariogenesis. However, the variation may be due to sampling at different time points during caries development, varying methods of specimen sampling, storage, sequencing or analysis or differences in host factors such as age.

Molecular Oncology in Management of Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancers are the third most common cancers in the world. Management of both primary and metastatic colorectal cancers has evolved over the last couple of decades. Extensive research in molecular oncology has helped us understand and identify these complex intricacies in colorectal cancer biology and disease progression. These advances coupled with improved knowledge on various mutations have helped develop targeted chemotherapeutics and has allowed planning an effective treatment regimen in this era of immunotherapy with precision. The diverse chemotherapeutic and biological agents at our disposal can make decision making a very complex process. Molecular profile, including CIN, RAS, BRAF mutations, microsatellite instability, ctDNA, and consensus molecular subtypes, are some of the important factors which are to be considered while planning an individualized treatment regimen. This article summarizes the current status of molecular oncology in the management of colorectal cancer and should serve as a practical guide for the clinical team.