Texas Tobacco Prevention Pilot Initiative: processes and effects.

The study was designed to examine how intensity of anti-smoking media campaigns and differing types of anti-smoking community-based programs influence young adolescents' tobacco use and related psychosocial variables. Sixth grade students attending 11 middle schools in eight study communities assigned to varying intervention conditions were assessed by a pre-intervention survey conducted in spring 2000. The assessment was followed by summer and fall 2000 media and community interventions that were evaluated by post-intervention data collection taking place with a new cohort of sixth graders in the same 11 schools in late fall 2000. In analyses conducted at the school level, the enhanced school and comprehensive community program conditions outperformed the no intervention program condition to reduce tobacco use and intentions to use tobacco. Combining the intensive or low media campaign with the comprehensive community program was most effective in suppressing positive attitudes toward smoking, while the enhanced school program alone was less effective in influencing attitudes. The most consistent changes, at least short-term, to reduce teen tobacco use, susceptibility to smoking and pro-smoking attitudes were achieved by combining the intensive media campaign with the comprehensive community program condition.

Comparison of reported symptoms of acute myocardial infarction in Mexican Americans versus non-Hispanic whites (the Corpus Christi Heart Project).

This study examines whether there are differences between Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites in reported symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The symptoms experienced by patients identified in a community-based surveillance program were examined to determine whether between-group differences existed by ethnicity, gender, and diabetic status. Data were available regarding the symptoms of 589 patients, between the ages of 25 and 74 years, who were hospitalized and diagnosed as either having definite or possible AMI in special care units at 1 of 7 hospitals in Corpus Christi, Texas. The most frequently reported symptoms were chest pain (83.2%), chest pressure or discomfort (67.6%), sweating (64.2%), fatigue (62.6%), dyspnea (60.3%), and arm or jaw pain (58.2%). After adjusting for age, diabetes mellitus, and gender, and relative to non-Hispanic whites, Mexican Americans were more likely to report chest pain, upper back pain, and palpitations, and less likely to report arm or jaw pain. Likewise, relative to men, women were more likely to report fatigue, dyspnea, dizziness, upper back pain, palpitations, and cough, and were less likely to report chest pain. Significant differences were also observed when older patients' symptoms were compared with younger patients' symptoms.