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Objectives: To examine the demographic and health-related factors associated with risk behaviors that have been linked to cancer including smoking, high BMI, and low physical activity., Design and Sample: A secondary analysis was conducted using data from Rural Families Speak about Health, a multistate, epidemiologic study of rural American women and their families (N = 444)., Measures: Validated measures for various demographic and health-related items including tobacco use, BMI, physical activity, and depression were used., Results: Of the total sample with complete data (n = 399), the mean age was 32 years and the majority were White (64%), married (67%), had a high school education or higher (73%), and had an annual household income of less than $40,000 (90%). Regarding cancer risk behaviors, 36% of the sample were smokers, 39% reported low levels of physical activity, and 45% had a calculated BMI over 30. Thirty-five percent of participants reported engaging in two or more risk behaviors. There were significant differences in income, perceived health status, and depression depending on the number of risk behaviors reported., Conclusions: Understanding combinations of risk behaviors can assist nurses and other health professionals in tailoring multiple health behavior change interventions to prevent cancer among rural women., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Blue collar workers are at risk for obesity. Little is known about obesity in Operating Engineers, a group of blue collar workers, who operate heavy earth-moving equipment in road building and construction. Therefore, 498 Operating Engineers in Michigan were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional survey to determine variables related to obesity in this group. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine personal, psychological, and behavioral factors predicting obesity. Approximately 45% of the Operating Engineers screened positive for obesity, and another 40% were overweight. Multivariate analysis revealed that younger age, male sex, higher numbers of self-reported co-morbidities, not smoking, and low physical activity levels were significantly associated with obesity among Operating Engineers. Operating Engineers are significantly at risk for obesity, and workplace interventions are needed to address this problem.

The adverse effects of multiple health risk factors have been well-documented; however, still understudied are the effects of early smoking in the context of multiple health risk factors. This study aimed to examine the role of early smoking initiation in relation to several health risk factors, including heavy drinking, physical inactivity, and obesity in later life among ever smokers in the USA. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2006 through 2018 were analyzed. The primary dependent variables were presence of three other risk factors: heavy drinking, physical inactivity, and obesity. The independent variable was the age of smoking initiation. Logit regression models were constructed to evaluate the association between smoking initiation and multiple health risk factors. All analyses were done in 2022. Among US adult smokers, 18.2% started smoking before age 15 (early initiators), 55.9% at ages 15–18 (middle initiators), and 25.9% at age 20 or later (late initiators). Compared to late smoking initiators, the odds of engaging in additional health risk factors increased by 37.3% among early initiators (OR = 1.373, 95% CI = 1.316, 1.432) and 7.7% among middle initiators (OR = 1.077, 95% CI= 1.041, 1.116). Additionally, current smoking was associated with higher odds (OR = 1.369, 95% CI = 1.322, 1.417) of having additional health risk factors compared to former smoking, with one exception: current smokers had lower odds of obesity (OR = 0.566, 95% CI = 0.537, 0.597). Tobacco control programs to prevent adolescents from initiating smoking may have the potential to prevent other health risk factors in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image, by Hoe‐Yune Jung, et al., is based on the Original Article Amodiaquine improves insulin resistance and lipid metabolism in diabetic model mice, DOI: 10.1111/dom.13284. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]