October 2021

Source: Freepik Copyright: senivpetro URL: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-woman-sitting-smoking-ecigarette_8380105.htm Licensed by JMIR   University of British Columbia, Okanagan, researchers examine how e-cigarette users quit E-cigarette users engaged on Reddit say gradual reduction is key. New research from the University of British Columbia, Okanagan (UBCO), shows that gradual nicotine reduction is key to helping e-cigarette users quit. The study, published in week’s issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, has implications for young Canadians who are currently hooked and want to stop using e-cigarettes, commonly called vapes. “Vaping has become a popular global phenomenon, with more than 40 million users worldwide,” says Dr Laura Struik, assistant professor, UBCO School of Nursing,Read More →

Source: The Authors/ Pexels Copyright: The Authors/ Pexels URL: https://www.jmir.org/2021/10/e27298 License: Licensed by JMIR October 12, 2021 Contact: Laura Bailey, 734-647-1848, baileylm@umich.edu Mindful Breathing for Pain Control: Like Yin and Yang ANN ARBOR—It has long been known that meditative mindful breathing helps with various health conditions, including pain. To that end, researchers at the University of Michigan compared two types of meditative breathing––traditional mindful breathing and virtual reality, 3D-guided mindful breathing––to reduce pain. They found that each type of breathing lessened pain by modulating the somatosensory cortex, a region of the brain responsible for processing pain, but each used different mechanisms, said Alexandre DaSilva, associateRead More →

Source: Adobe Stock Copyright: Prostock-studio URL: https://stock.adobe.com/ca/images/pregnancy-apps-concept-expectant-woman-using-cellphone/305497970?prev_url=detail License: Licensed by JMIR COVID-19 Restrictions Linked with Elevated Stress in New Moms and Moms-to-Be By: Asher Jones Pregnant women and new mothers in Pennsylvania felt more stressed during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in early 2020 than before the pandemic, according to a new study from the University of Pittsburgh (hereinafter referred to as “Pitt”), which analyzed participants’ real-time stress levels with an innovative smartphone app. Unlike other studies that investigated stress in women who are pregnant or have given birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pitt researchers had access to participants’ stress data from before the virus startedRead More →

Source: Unsplash Copyright: Kate Torline URL: https://unsplash.com/photos/VeiqoYAEeis License: Licensed by JMIR A new study aims to fill a critical research gap on effective, culturally sensitive approaches to smoking cessation among transgender and gender expansive individuals. By Alina Ladyzhensky, University of Pennsylvania While rates of cigarette smoking among adults in the United States have declined significantly over the last several decades, tobacco use disparities remain among some population groups and disproportionately affect members of vulnerable communities. One such group is transgender and gender expansive (TGE) adults, who are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes than cisgender individuals. While research suggests that, given appropriate resources and opportunities,Read More →