The 'Dangerous Cocktail': an epidemiological survey on the attitude of a population of pregnant women towards some pregnancy risk factors

Association between Harmful and Addictive Perceptions of E-Cigarettes and E-Cigarette Use among Adolescents and Youth-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Recognising the association between the perceived risks of e-cigarettes and e-cigarette usage among youth is critical for planning effective prevention and intervention initiatives; thus, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed.

METHODS

Fourteen databases were searched for eligible studies from the Inception of database until March 2022 to examine the effect estimates of the association between perceptions of harmfulness and addictiveness and overall e-cigarette usage among adolescents and youth.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis showed that in comparison to non-users, young people who were ever e-cigarette users were two times more likely to disagree that e-cigarettes are harmful (OR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.41-3.43) and perceived e-cigarettes as less harmful than tobacco cigarettes (OR: 2.01, 95% CI 1.47-2.75). Youths who were ever e-cigarette users were also 2.3 and 1.8 times more likely to perceive e-cigarettes as less addictive (OR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.81-2.88) or perceive e-cigarettes as more addictive (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.22-2.73) than tobacco cigarettes, as compared with non-users. The subgroup analysis reported that adolescents were more likely to believe that e-cigarettes are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, while youth users perceived otherwise.

CONCLUSION

the risk perceptions of e-cigarettes are associated with e-cigarette use among adolescents and youth and could be the focus of health promotion to prevent and curb the uptake of e-cigarettes among young people.

Young people, young adults and binge drinking

Introduction and purpose

The consumption of alcohol among young people and young adults has undergone, in recent decades, a sharp upsurge with the increasingly frequent intake of large quantities of alcohol. The aim of our study was to investigate socio-demographic, economic and behavioural factors that have a major impact on the voluntary alcohol habit in young people.

Methods

The survey was conducted via administration of an anonymous questionnaire based on “the WHO Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test”, disseminated on-line, to young people and young adults (aged 18 to 35).

Results

We examined a sample of 365 subjects. Consumption of wine and beer were predominant followed by super-alcohol mixes. We found correlations between alcohol use and the following variables: marital status (p < 0.001), parental education (mother p < 0.05; father p < 0.001), income level (p < 0.05), physical activity (p < 0.05) and voluptuous habits (smoke and coffee: p < 0.001.The 5% of men and 1% of women had car accidents during the previous year due to alcohol use and 15% said they did not remember what happened in an alcoholic evening once or twice a month.

Conclusions

The phenomenon of alcohol consummation is deeply ingrained in our reality, with dangerous episodes of binge drinking in young adults with a higher prevalence in the female sex.

Healthcare workers' vaccination at European and Italian level: a narrative review

Today some vaccine-preventable diseases remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide despite the availability of new vaccines. Healthcare workers are particularly at risk to acquire an infection disease, playing a fundamental role in nosocomial transmission, which makes them an important target group for vaccination. The vaccination recommendations of HCWs, as well as the general population, differ from country to country. Furthermore, coverage rates vary widely a lot over the world, making HCWs vulnerable to disease and so healthcare settings to outbreaks. The motivations of vaccine hesitancy are many and maybe other studies would help policymakers and stake-holders to shape programs to improve vaccination coverage and the control of infectious diseases through the correct application of guidelines on prevention. (www.actabiomedica.it)