Depression is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD), with poorly understood mechanisms. To explore whether there are dysregulated metabolic pathways among PD patients with depression, authors analyzed serum samples of PD patients from a population-based case-control study (total n = 635) and performed metabolome-wide association and pathway analyses of depression in PD. They identified 212 metabolomic features associated with having ever received a depression diagnosis before PD and 213 features with higher Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores (129 were annotated). 

Findings: Metabolic features authors identified belonged to 14 pathways: glycerophospholipid metabolism for both outcomes and tryptophan, tyrosine, folate, biopterin, and sialic acid metabolism for those with higher GDS scores. An association observed with 6-hydroxy-1H-indole-3acetamide likely indicates recent antidepressant treatment. These findings suggest that dysregulation in lipid and amino acid pathways, including tryptophan and tyrosine metabolism involved in neurotransmitter synthesis, may reflect altered neurochemical signaling and systemic metabolic changes related to depression in PD.

On 23 October 2015, operators at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage field in Northern Los Angeles reported an uncontrolled natural gas leak. The blowout persisted for 112 days, releasing ~109,000 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere. Elevated air toxics and fine particle pollutant levels were also measured in nearby communities. Authors used California’s birth records and a quasiexperimental design to assess whether pregnant women living in affected communities during the disaster experienced more adverse birth outcomes than expected.

Findings: Overall, the prevalence of low birthweight and term low birthweight were 45 to 100% higher than expected among women living in the affected communities whose late pregnancy overlapped with the blowout. The strongest effects were observed among women living directly south and southwest of the facility. Furthermore, a dose-response effect was observed, where the odds of low birthweight were highest among women living closest to the well and attenuated out.

Most tobacco control research in the United States has focused on federal- and state-level policies. However, tobacco control policies vary substantially within states. In this study, authors aimed to examine the impact of local tobacco control policy intensity on smoking behavior in California from 2014 to 2019. 

Authors linked data from the 2014 to 2019 California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS) with local-level tobacco control policy scores. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between local policy intensity and cigarette smoking.

Findings: Adoption of local tobacco control policies was associated with: 

• 2.1 percentage point (pp) reduction in overall smoking prevalence
• 2.3 pp reduction among individuals living in multiunit housing or neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status, and
• 3.5 pp reduction among African American populations. 

Longer durations of policy implementation and stricter measures were associated with greater reductions in smoking, particularly among individuals living in low socioeconomic status neighborhoods and multiunit housing than among their counterparts.

Local tobacco control policies are associated with lower smoking rates, especially among disadvantaged populations. Strengthening and expanding these policies may be an effective strategy to further reduce tobacco-related disparities.

Summary: While California as a whole has made significant progress over the past three decades in reducing rates of cigarette smoking, progress across communities in the state has been uneven. Using the 2014–2019 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) combined adult data and existing state, county, and city tobacco control policies and neighborhood-level data on social drivers of health, this brief examines variations in local tobacco policies and their relationship with smoking behaviors, particularly among priority populations disproportionately impacted by tobacco.

Findings: In 2019, more than 60% of California cities still had weak or no local tobacco policies. Inequities in protection by tobacco control policies persist across priority populations, especially in areas with low neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES). Reductions in adult cigarette smoking were greater in cities with strong local tobacco policies than in those with weak or no policies. Strong local policies were also associated with decreased smoking rates among adult (18+) populations disproportionately impacted by the tobacco epidemic, thereby reducing social inequalities in cigarette smoking. This study also found that the positive effect of local tobacco control policies on current adult smoking rates was further enhanced when the state-level tobacco policy (i.e., raising the tax from $0.87 to $2.87 per pack) was enacted in April 2017. 

Read the Publication:

• Policy Brief: State and Local Tobacco Control Policies Are Associated with Decreasing Cigarette Smoking Rates and Disparities
• Infographic

Read Related Publications:

• Policy Brief: The Changing Landscape: Tobacco and Marijuana Use Among Young Adults in California
• Policy Brief: Health at Risk: Policies Are Needed to End Cigarette, Marijuana, and E-Cigarette Secondhand Smoke in Multi-Unit Housing in Los Angeles