Objective To examines smoking status, substance use, sociodemographics, and psychosocial characteristics in relation to alternative tobacco use among college students. Methods Current tobacco use (cigarettes, cigar-like products, hookah, chew, snus) and correlates (sociodemographics, sensation-seeking, attitudes toward tobacco and smokers, social factors) were assessed among students aged 18-25 at 6 Southeastern US colleges using an online survey. Results Those who were younger, male, black, cigarette and marijuana users, and demonstrating at-risk psychosocial factors were at increased risk of alternative tobacco product use (p < .001). Among current smokers, never daily nondaily smokers were 3 times as likely as former daily non-daily smokers and daily smokers to use alternative tobacco products (p < .001). Conclusions Important risk factors for alternative tobacco use included important sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics.

BackgroundIn the US, African Americans (AAs) are four times more likely to develop end stage renal disease (ESRD) but half as likely to receive a kidney transplant as whites. Patient interest in kidney transplantation is a fundamental step in the kidney transplant referral process. Our aim was to determine the factors associated with the willingness to receive a kidney transplant among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in a predominantly minority population.MethodsCKD patients from an outpatient nephrology clinic at a safety-net hospital (n = 213) participated in a cross-sectional survey from April to June, 2013 to examine the factors associated with willingness to receive a kidney transplant among a predominantly minority population. The study questionnaire was developed from previously published literature. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with willingness to undergo a kidney transplant.ResultsRespondents were primarily AAs (91.0 %), mostly female (57.6 %) and middle aged (51.6 %). Overall, 53.9 % of participants were willing to undergo a kidney transplant. Willingness to undergo a kidney transplant was associated with a positive perception towards living kidney donation (OR 7.31, 95 % CI: 1.31–40.88), willingness to attend a class about kidney transplant (OR = 7.15, CI: 1.76–29.05), perception that a kidney transplant will improve quality of life compared to dialysis (OR = 5.40, 95 % CI: 1.97–14.81), and obtaining information on kidney transplant from other sources vs. participant’s physician (OR =3.30, 95 % CI: 1.13–9.67), when compared with their reference groups.ConclusionIt is essential that the quality of life benefits of kidney transplantation be known to individuals with CKD to increase their willingness to undergo kidney transplantation. Availability of multiple sources of information and classes on kidney transplantation may also contribute to willingness to undergo kidney transplantation, especially among AAs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12882-015-0186-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background/Objectives The rise in the number of elderly kidney transplant recipients over the past decade makes it increasingly important to understand factors affecting post-transplant outcomes in this population. Our objective was to investigate the racial/ethnic differences in graft and patient survival among elderly kidney transplant recipients. Design Retrospective Cohort. Setting & Participants All first-time, kidney-only transplant recipients ≥60 years of age at transplantation in the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database, transplanted between July 1996 and October 2010, N=44,013. Measurements Time to graft failure and death obtained from the UNOS database and linkage to the Social Security Death Index. Neighborhood poverty from 2000 U.S. Census geographic data. Results Of the 44,013 recipients in the sample, 20% were African American, 63% non-Hispanic white, 11% Hispanic, 5% Asian and the rest “other racial groups”. In adjusted Cox models, we found that compared to whites, African Americans were more likely to experience graft failure (HR: 1.23, 95%CI: 1.15, 1.32), while Hispanics, (HR: 0.77, 95%CI: 0.70, 0.85) and Asians (HR: 0.70, 95%CI: 0.61, 0.81) were less likely to experience graft failure. Secondly, compared to whites, African Americans (HR: 0.84, 95%CI: 0.80, 0.88), Hispanics (HR: 0.68, 95%CI: 0.64, 0.72), and Asians (HR: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.57, 0.68) all were less likely to die after renal transplantation. Conclusion Elderly African Americans are at increased risk of graft failure compared to white transplant recipients, but survive longer after transplantation. Asians have the highest patient and graft survival followed by the Hispanics. Further studies are needed to assess additional factors affecting graft and patient survival including outcomes such as quality of life.

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IntroductionLupus nephritis (LN) is a serious organ manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus. Histologic overlap is relatively common in the six pathologic classes (I to VI) of LN. For example, mixed proliferative LN (MPLN) often includes features of classes III & V or classes IV & V combined. We performed a comparative evaluation of renal outcomes in patients with MPLN to patients with pure proliferative LN (PPLN) against pre-specified renal outcomes, and we also identified predictor of clinical outcomes among those with PPLN and MPLN.HypothesisIndividuals with MPLN will have worse short-term renal outcomes compared to those with PPLN.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 278 adult LN patients (≥18 years old) identified from an Emory University Hospital registry of native renal biopsies performed between January 2000 and December 2011. The final analytic sample consisted of individuals with a diagnosis of PPLN (n = 60) and MPLN (n = 96). We analyzed differences in clinical and laboratory characteristics at baseline. We also assessed associations between LN category and renal outcomes (complete remission and time to ESRD) with logistic and Cox proportional hazards models within two years of baseline.ResultsThe study population was predominantly female (83.97%) and African American (71.8%) with a mean age of 33.4 years at baseline. Over a median follow up of 1.02 years, we did not find any statistically significant associations between MPLN and the development of ESRD or remission when compared to patients with PPLN (adjusted HR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.07, 1.26).ConclusionThere was no association between mixed or pure histopathologic features of LN at presentation and rate of complete or partial remission but higher baseline eGFR was associated with a lower probability of complete remission among patients with lupus nephritis.