OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of different acupuncture frequencies in tobacco-dependent patients and explore the impact of nicotine metabolite rate (NMR) on smoking cessation in the intervention with acupuncture. METHODS: A total of 120 cases of tobacco-dependent patients were randomly divided into a high-frequency group (60 cases, 12 cases dropped off) and a low-frequency group (60 cases, 6 cases dropped off). In the two groups, smoking cessation counseling was provided prior to acupuncture. Acupuncture was applied to Baihui (GV 20), Lieque (LU 7), Zusanli (ST 36), etc. Additionally, electric stimulation was added at Lieque (LU 7) and Zusanli (ST 36), with continuous wave, 15 Hz in frequency. The duration of treatment was 8 weeks in either group. In the high-frequency group, the treatment was given 5 times weekly from week 1 to week 4, and was 3 times weekly from week 5 to week 8. In the low-frequency group, the treatment was given 3 times weekly from week 1 to week 4, and was twice a week from week 5 to week 8. The immediate withdrawal rate, persistent withdrawal rate, the score of Fagerstrőm test for nicotine dependence (FTND) before and after treatment, as well as the score of Minnesota nicotine withdrawal scale (MNWS) in 1 and 8 weeks of treatment were compared among the patients with high and low NMR between the two groups separately. The Logistic regression analysis was used to screen the influencing factors of smoking cessation in the intervention with acupuncture. RESULTS: After treatment, there was no statistical significance of the differences in the immediate withdrawal rate (35.4% [17/48] vs 29.6% [16/54]) and the persistent withdrawal rate (33.3% [16/48] vs 25.9% [14/54]) between the high-frequency group and the low-frequency group (P>0.05). The difference in withdrawal rate had no statistical significance between high and low NMR patients (P>0.05). FTND scores after treatment were lower than those before treatment (P<0.01) and MNWS scores were lower than those in 1 week of treatment (P<0.01) in the two groups. However, the differences had no statistical significance between the two groups and between the patients with high NMR and low NMR (P>0.05). Age, education level and NMR were the influencing factors of smoking cessation in the intervention with acupuncture (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture with different frequencies has no obvious impact on the efficacy in tobacco-dependent patients. The lower nicotine metabolite rate in individuals, the better efficacy of acupuncture. The smokers with high nicotine metabolite rate may obtain a better effect of cessation in the high-frequency intervention with acupuncture.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Nicotine ; Smoking Cessation/psychology*

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Beijing ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Smokers/statistics & numerical data* ; Smoking/psychology* ; Smoking Cessation/statistics & numerical data* ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: We aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms as well as suicide-related ideation among Japanese university students during the stay-home order necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Japan, and offer evidence in support of future intervention to depression and suicide prevention strategies among college and university students. METHODS: The data for this cross-sectional study were derived from the Student Mental Health Survey conducted from May 20 to June 16, 2020 at a national university in Akita prefecture. Among the 5111 students recruited, 2712 participated in this study (response rate, 53%; mean age ± standard deviation, 20.5 ±3.5 years; men, 53.8%). Depressive symptoms were identified by using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). RESULTS: The prevalence of moderate depressive symptoms based on a PHQ-9 score ≥10 and suicide-related ideation based on question 9 of PHQ-9 ≥1, which encompasses thoughts of both suicide and self-harm, was 11.7% and 6.7%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that risk factors for depression included being a woman, smoking, alcohol consumption, and social network communication using either video or voice. For suicide-related ideation, alcohol consumption was the only risk factor. Exercise and having someone to consult about worries were associated with decreased risk of both depressive symptoms and suicide-related ideation. CONCLUSIONS Negative lifestyles of smoking and drinking, and being a woman, may be important risk factors for depressive symptoms, whereas exercise and having someone to consult about worries may be protective factors.
Adolescent ; Alcohol Drinking ; COVID-19/psychology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression/epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pandemics ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; Students/psychology* ; Suicidal Ideation ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Suicidal behaviors are seriously social issues among adolescents in the world. Exposed to smoking and being bullied are risk factors of suicidal behaviors. The present study was aimed to examine the interaction of smoking and being bullied on suicidal behaviors among Chinese adolescents. METHODS: A total of 18,900 students were involved in the questionnaire study, in four cities of China from November 2017 to January 2018. Suicidal behaviors, smoking, and being bullied were measured by self-reported validated instruments. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to analyze the associations of suicidal ideation (SI)/suicidal plan (SP)/suicidal attempt (SA), smoking, and being bullied. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking, being bullied, SI/SP/SA, were 3.1%, 20.6%, 26.4%, 13.2%, and 5.2% respectively. Interaction analysis indicated that being bullied was associated with a greater increase in the likelihood of suicidal behaviors for adolescents with smoking than for those without smoking. CONCLUSIONS These finding suggest that smoking exacerbates the association between being bullied and suicidal behaviors. Future research should explore how and why smoking appears to more bully-victims than for those without smoking and how to mitigate it.
Adolescent ; Adolescent Behavior/psychology* ; Bullying/psychology* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Smoking/psychology* ; Students/statistics & numerical data* ; Suicidal Ideation

BACKGROUND: This study aims to understand the extent of adolescents' attempts to quit using tobacco and the factors influencing such attempts in Korea, using a descriptive, cross-sectional design and secondary data analysis with the 2019 Youth Health Behavior Survey. METHODS: The participants were 4028 adolescent tobacco users who had used tobacco for 1 day or more in the past 30 days. The data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS/WIN 26.0 program, and multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted using the complex sampling method module. RESULTS: A total of 68.2% of the participants attempted to quit using tobacco. We analyzed the factors for adolescents' attempts to quit using tobacco by dividing them into psychological, physical, behavioral, and environmental dimensions. The factors influencing adolescents' attempts to quit using tobacco, identified through multivariable logistic regression analysis, are as follows: participation in sports activities (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.41), vigorous physical activity (OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.06-1.46), and type of tobacco product used (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.24-2.21) in the behavioral dimension; pictorial cigarette pack warnings (perceived smoking as unhealthy) (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.56-2.36), and the presence of secondhand smoking at home (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.01-1.38) in the environmental dimension. CONCLUSIONS Schools and public healthcare providers must consider multidimensional factors when providing support for successful tobacco cessation in adolescents and focus particularly on elements relating to physical activity and environmental factors.
Adolescent ; Adolescent Health/statistics & numerical data* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Smoking Cessation/statistics & numerical data* ; Tobacco Smoking/psychology*

BACKGROUND: A number of studies have reported future prevalence estimates for diabetes mellitus (DM), but these studies have been limited for the Korean population. The present study aimed to construct a forecasting model that includes risk factors for type 2 DM using individual- and national-level data for Korean adults to produce prevalence estimates for the year 2030. METHODS: Time series data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and national statistics from 2005 to 2013 were used. The study subjects were 13,908 male and 18,697 female adults aged 30 years or older who were free of liver cirrhosis. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to select significant factors associated with DM prevalence. RESULTS: The results showed that survey year, age, sex, marital, educational, or occupational status, the presence of obesity or hypertension, smoking status, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, psychological distress or depression, and fertility rate significantly contributed to the 8-year trend in DM prevalence (P < 0.05). Based on sex-specific forecasting models that included the above factors, DM prevalence for the year 2030 was predicted to be 29.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 27.6% to 30.8%) in men and 19.7% (95% CI, 18.2% to 21.2%) in women. CONCLUSION: The present study projected a two-fold increase in the prevalence of DM in 2030 compared with that for the years 2013 and 2014 in Korean adults. Modifiable factors contributing to this increase in DM prevalence, such as obesity, smoking, and psychological factors, may require attention in order to reduce national and individual costs associated with DM.
Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Birth Rate ; Depression ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Employment ; Female ; Forecasting ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Psychology ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Sleep disorder is a precursor to depression, which is one of the psychological factors associated with periodontal disease that, in turn, affects general and periodontal health. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, depression, and periodontitis in older people aged over 65 years. METHODS: A total of 2,002 older adults aged 65 years or older were included in the study. Their general and health aspects, including smoking, drinking, diabetes, hypertension, and depression, were investigated. Periodontitis was examined using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Data were analyzed through a complex sampling design method. Frequency and crossover analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between depression and periodontitis. To investigate the effect of depression on periodontitis, a logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Regarding depression and participants' general characteristics, statistically significant differences were found in sex, economic activity, smoking habit, and CPI (p<0.05). In the presence of depression, the odds ratio for periodontitis was 1.84, and the adjusted odds ratio for age, sex, economic activity, residence type, household income, education level, smoking habit, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes was 1.72, representing a significant difference (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study examined the relationship between depression and periodontitis in older persons and confirmed a significant correlation. As the population of older adults increases, we should pay attention to their mental and oral health as well as systemic diseases. Various programs for the health promotion of older persons need to be implemented to improve the quality of life of older people.
Adult ; Depression ; Drinking ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Logistic Models ; Methods ; Odds Ratio ; Oral Health ; Periodontal Diseases ; Periodontal Index ; Periodontitis ; Psychology ; Quality of Life ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the effects of socioeconomic factors and psychosocial factors, both individually and combined, on all-cause mortality risk (mortality risk). METHODS: We conducted an 8-year (2006–2014) longitudinal analysis of 10,247 individuals who took part in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, a nationwide survey of people aged 45–79 years. Socioeconomic vulnerability (SEV) was assessed with factors such as education, household income, commercial health insurance, and residential area. Mental health (MH) was assessed with factors such as depression, social engagement, and life satisfaction. The covariates were age, gender, marital status, cohabiting, number of chronic diseases, and health behaviors such as regular exercise, smoking, and alcohol intake. We used a Cox proportional hazard analysis to investigate the effects of SEV and MH on mortality risk and also to analyze the superimposed effects of SEV-MH on mortality risk. RESULTS: After the controlling for the covariates, high SEV and negative MH were found to be strong predictors of all-cause mortality. The highest quartile of SEV (vs. lowest) had a 1.70 times greater mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24–2.33) and the highest quartile of MH (vs. lowest) had a 2.13 times greater mortality risk (HR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.72–2.64). Being in the highest quartile for both SEV and MH (vs. lowest) increased mortality risk more than 3 times (HR, 3.11; 95% CI, 2.20–4.40). CONCLUSION: High SEV and negative MH were independently associated with increased mortality risk, and their superimposed effects were associated with an increased risk of mortality.
Aging ; Chronic Disease ; Depression ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Health Behavior ; Insurance, Health ; Longitudinal Studies ; Marital Status ; Mental Health ; Mortality ; Psychology ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Socioeconomic Factors

OBJECTIVES: This study identifies associated factors of ischemic heart disease (IHD) among post-menopausal Korean women at the biomedical (age, family history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or cerebro-cardiovascular disease, body mass index, and metabolic syndrome), biosocial (socioeconomic status and educational level), and psychosocial levels (stress, depression, smoking, binge alcohol consumption, and physical activity). METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional design with secondary data analysis of the 2013–2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data from 3,636 women were analyzed by logistic regression analysis using a complex sample procedure. RESULTS: Of the biomedical factors, older age [odds ratio (OR): 2.99, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.87–4.80, p < 0.001], family history (OR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.44–3.65, p = 0.001), and metabolic syndrome (OR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.27–2.95, p = 0.002) were associated with IHD in post-menopausal women. Of the psychosocial factors, depression (OR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.66–3.96, p < 0.001) and smoking (OR: 1.92, CI: 1.04–3.55, p = 0.038) were associated with IHD in post-menopausal women. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that healthcare providers need to consider the contributing adverse effects of older age, family history, metabolic syndrome, depression and smoking when evaluating risk factors for IHD in post-menopausal women.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Depression ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Dyslipidemias ; Female ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Logistic Models ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Nutrition Surveys ; Postmenopause ; Psychology ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: To evaluate predictors of severe or moderate coronary artery disease (CAD) in individuals with zero or very low (<10) coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 1175 asymptomatic persons with zero or very low (<10) CAC scores were analyzed for CAD stenosis using coronary computed tomography angiography. Moderate and severe CADs were defined as having more than 50% and more than 70% stenosis in any of the major coronary arteries, respectively. Age, gender, body mass index, hypertension, type II diabetes, dyslipidemia, lipid profile, creatinine, and smoking status were evaluated as predictors for moderate and severe CAD. RESULTS: In the study population, moderate and severe CADs were found in 7.5% and 3.3%, respectively. Among evaluated risk factors, age [odds ratio (OR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02−1.07, p<0.001], current smoking status (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.82−5.34, p<0.001), and CAC 1−9 (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.08−3.00, p=0.024) were significantly associated with moderate CAD. Meanwhile, age (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02−1.08, p=0.003), low high density lipoprotein (HDL) (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93−0.99, p=0.003), and current smoking status (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.14−5.30, p=0.022) were found to be significantly associated with severe CAD. Improvement of discrimination power for predicting severe CAD was observed when smoking and HDL cholesterol were serially added into the age model. CONCLUSION: Smoking showed significant correlations with moderate or severe CAD, and low HDL cholesterol also proved to be a predictor of severe CAD in asymptomatic individuals with extremely low CAC scores.
Angiography ; Asymptomatic Diseases ; Body Mass Index ; Calcium ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Creatinine ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Dyslipidemias ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Lipoproteins ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking