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We examined the relationships between blood heavy metals [cadmium (B-Cd), mercury (B-Hg), and lead (B-Pb)] and heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc), JT interval (JTc), and QRS complex duration (QRSc), electrocardiogram markers of ventricular repolarization and depolarization among 60 traffic enforcers in the MMDA traffic enforcers' health study. We fitted regression models to estimate the mean change effect on QTc, JTc, and QRSc, of B-Cd, B-Hg, and B-Pb concentrations, adjusted for potential confounding factors. We looked at effect modification by sex and smoking status. An interquartile range increase in B-Cd (0.9 μg/L) was related to a 6.6% increase in mean QRSc [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.5, 10.8], and a 1.7% increase in mean QTc (95% CI: 0.2, 3.3). We also found that the associations between B-Cd and QRSc and QTc were higher among participants who were never smokers than ever smokers. Moreover, the association between B-Cd and QRSc was also higher among males than females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing students trained to be health advocates have engaged in cigarette and electronic cigarette (EC) use. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of cigarette and EC use among nursing students and examine how EC vaping and cigarette smoking are associated with various risk factors. This cross-sectional survey of smoking and vaping was administered to 249 nursing students in a private university in Manila, Philippines. An online-based selfassessment questionnaire (SAQ) that includes socio-demographic information, cigarette and EC usage, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and other risk factors was administered using on-campus and online recruitment strategies. Generalized linear models were fitted to estimate the effect of stress and other risk factors on smoking and vaping. Approximately one out of eight were exclusive vapers, one out of 25 were exclusive smokers, and one out of five were both smokers and vapers. The prevalence of smoking/vaping was 47% higher [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR): 1.47, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.04-2.07, p-value = 0.028] among students with high-stress levels than students with low to moderate stress levels. In addition, students who were sophomores (aPR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.12-2.53, p-value = 0.012), juniors (aPR: 3.22, 95% CI: 1.91-5.42, p-value < 0.001), and seniors (aPR: 1.53, 95% CI: 0.76-3.08, p-value = 0.230) had a higher prevalence of smoking/vaping compared to freshmen students. Having a positive attitude towards vaping health impacts and a smoker/vaper peer was also associated with a higher prevalence of smoking/vaping. Therefore, effective health communication strategies and policies in universities and the community are recommended to reinforce existing smoking and vaping control efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with acute changes in cardiac outcomes, often within hours of exposure. Objectives: We examined the effects of air pollutants on heart-rate-corrected QT interval (QTc), an electrocardiographic marker of ventricular repolarization, and whether these associations were modified by participant characteristics and genetic polymorphisms related to oxidative stress. Methods: We studied repeated measurements of QTc on 580 men from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study (NAS) using mixed-effects models with random intercepts. We fitted a quadratic constrained distributed lag model to estimate the cumulative effect on QTc of ambient air pollutants including fine particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2concentrations during the 10 hr before the visit. We genotyped polymorphisms related to oxidative stress and analyzed pollution-susceptibility score interactions using the genetic susceptibility score (GSS) method. Results: Ambient traffic pollutant concentrations were related to longer QTc. An interquartile range (IQR) change in BC cumulative during the 10 hr before the visit was associated with increased QTc [1.89 msec change; 95% confidence interval (CI), -0.16 to 3.93]. We found a similar association with QTc for an IQR change in 1-hr BC that occurred 4 hr before the visit (2.54 msec change; 95% CI, 0.28-4.80). We found increased QTc for IQR changes in NO2 and CO, but the change was statistically insignificant. In contrast, we found no association between QTc and PM2.5, SO2, and O3. The association between QTc and BC was stronger among participants who were obese, who had diabetes, who were nonsmokers, or who had higher GSSs. Conclusions: Traffic-related pollutants may increase QTc among persons with diabetes, persons who are obese, and nonsmoking elderly individuals; the number of genetic variants related to oxidative stress increases this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]