Abstract

To investigate the relation between Internet use and binge drinking during early and middle adolescence. This is a cross-sectional study of a sub-sample of 8th and 10th graders from the Monitoring the Future (MtF) study, which annually surveys a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth on their attitudes, behaviors, and values. This study includes data from 21, 170 8th and 24, 362 10th graders who participated between 2007 and 2012 and were asked questions about Internet use and binge drinking. In fully adjusted models, we found a dose response relation between hours of recreational Internet use (i.e. outside work or school) and binge drinking which was stronger for 8th than 10th graders. Compared to < 1 h of Internet use per week, odds ratios estimates for 1–5 h/week, 6–19 h/week, and 20 or more h/week were 1.24 (99% CI: 0.85, 1.82), 1.83 (1.28, 2.61), and 2.78 (1.99, 3.87) for 8th graders, respectively. For 10th graders, this same association was attenuated [estimated OR = 1.06 (99% CI: 0.96, 1.16), 1.20 (1.03, 1.40), and 1.30 (1.07, 1.58), respectively]. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth, we find a significant, dose–response relation between Internet use and binge drinking. This relation was stronger in 8th graders versus 10th graders. Given that alcohol is the most abused substance among adolescents and binge drinking confers many health risks, longitudinal studies designed to examine the mediators of this relation are necessary to inform binge drinking prevention strategies, which may have greater impact if targeted at younger adolescents.

Abstract

To analyze calcium intake in adolescents according to sociodemographic variables, health-related behaviors, morbidities, and body mass index. This was a cross-sectional population-based study, with a two-stage cluster sampling that used data from a survey conducted in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, between 2008 and 2009. Food intake was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall. The study included 913 adolescents aged 10–19 years. Average nutrient intake was significantly lower in the segment with lower education of the head of the family and lower per capita family income, in individuals from other cities or states, those who consumed fruit less than four times a week, those who did not drink milk daily, those who were smokers, and those who reported the occurrence of headaches and dizziness. Higher mean calcium intake was found in individuals that slept less than seven hours a day. The prevalence of calcium intake below the recommendation was 88.6% (95% CI: 85.4–91.2). The results alert to an insufficient calcium intake and suggest that certain subgroups of adolescents need specific strategies to increase the intake of this nutrient.

Abstract

One of the challenges of the present century is to achieve adolescents and young adults’ complete development taking as a basis healthy behaviours and a culture of selfcare. On this basis in Toluca, a town in the State of Mexico, an interdisciplinary group has started an action programme dedicated to produce communicative and educational strategies to improve face-to-face and media interactions in order to promote a healthy behaviour in this group of population.

Abstract

Background Road transport workers (RTWs) are at high risk of exposure to several occupational carcinogens. However, there are gaps in knowledge regarding the extent and the circumstances of exposure. As a sub-study of the Australian Work Exposures Study, this study investigated the prevalence of occupational exposure in Australian RTWs. Methods A random sample of Australian working population was invited to a telephone interview regarding their current jobs. An automated expert-assessment procedure was applied to self-reported job-related tasks using a web-based application. 162 RTWs were included in this study. Results RTWs were exposed to diesel exhaust (97%), solar ultraviolet radiation (78%), environmental tobacco smoke (55%), benzene (29%), silica (15%), and asbestos (10%) at work. Besides driving on roads, vehicle maintenance-related tasks were the major source of carcinogen exposures among RTWs. Discussion Most RTWs are exposed to at least one carcinogen at work. We have identified tasks where the use of control measures could potentially reduce exposures. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:31–41, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract

The present study was aimed to determine the profile of sexual risk behavior of adolescents in conflict with the law, and analyze the influence of parents on such behavior, considering the level of support and supervision of their children perceive them and the frequency with which they communicate on issues related to sexual health care. 320 men (M = 16.33 years) belonging to a Community Diagnostic of Mexico. The results showed that adolescents have sexual risk profile, they have started their sexual debut from the thirteen years they have multiple sexual partners were evaluated, and they report different sexual practices, a high percentage of teenagers reported having had sex under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Over 20% reported some sexual health problem. Regarding the role of the parents was found to promote different preventive behaviors, depending on whether the father or mother, for example, they delay their sexual debut, greater frequency of condom use, is less frequent sex under the effects of alcohol and drugs. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of involving parents in the assessment of sexual behavior and sexual health programs generate in this population.

Abstract

xtabstractProlonged prednisolone treatment for the initial episode of childhood nephrotic syndrome may reduce relapse rate, butwhether this results fromthe increased duration of treatment or a higher cumulative dose remains unclear.We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 69 hospitals in The Netherlands. We randomly assigned 150 children (9 months to 17 years) presenting with nephrotic syndrome to either 3 months of prednisolone followed by 3 months of placebo ( n=74) or 6 months of prednisolone (n=76), and median follow-up was 47 months. Both groups received equal cumulative doses of prednisolone (approximately 3360 mg/m2). Among the 126 children who started trial medication, relapses occurred in 48 (77%) of 62 patients who received 3 months of prednisolone and 51 (80%) of 64 patients who received 6 months of prednisolone. Frequent relapses, according to international criteria, occurred with similar frequency between groups as well (45% versus 50%). In addition, there were no statistically significant differences between groups with respect to the eventual initiation of prednisolone maintenance and/or other immunosuppressive therapy (50% versus 59%), steroid dependence, or adverse effects. In conclusion, in this trial, extending initial prednisolone treatment from 3 to 6 months without increasing cumulative dose did not bene fit clinical outcome in children with nephrotic syndrome. Previous findings indicating that prolonged treatment regimens reduce relapses most likely resulted from increased cumulative dose rather than the treatment duration. Copyrigh

Abstract

School violence alludes to peer bullying and aggression in school. The field of communication has studied school violence by analyzing the influence of media and interpersonal relationships on aggressive behaviors. This article provides a perspective on school violence and concentrates on determining the influence of interpersonal communication with parents and teachers on adolescent aggressors and victims in school contexts. A non-experimental correlational-transverse design was used with a sample of 1,082 adolescents (M=15,61; DT=0,90). Three reliable scales were implemented to assess adolescent aggression and parental and pedagogical communication. Findings indicate that aggressions among adolescents at school and the interpersonal communication with parents and teachers present differences associated with gender (p=0,00). At the family level, it was found that offensive communication among parents and children (?=0,225; p=0,00) predicts an increment on school victimization. At the pedagogical level, it revealed that teacher communication intended to discipline students (?=?0,297; p=0,00) and make them see the importance of school and learning (?=?0,120; p=0,04) predicts a decrease in aggressive behavior among adolescents and school victimization. These new findings in education evidence the need to strengthen students’ interpersonal communication with their parents and teachers to obtain better results when implementing strategies to intervene and prevent school violence.

Abstract

frica’s population is young and growing at twice the pace of other continents. A youth bulge presents a series of development policy opportunities and challenges. In this context, simplistic linkages between the youth bulge, high unemployment, and fragility have gained traction and given rise to a youth policy agenda that targets urban male youth as the problem and emphasizes formal sector development as the solution. This paper questions some of the core assumptions that underpin mainstream perceptions of the linkages between youth, employment, and fragility in West Africa, and presents an alternative analysis. The study will use the language of livelihoods to reflect on youth employment experiences, as livelihoods take into account the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources), and activities required for a means of living beyond traditional ideas of employment, and thus enable a deeper, more sophisticated understanding of the realities of many young West Africans. The paper argues that a nuanced understanding of specific groups of young people and their livelihood activities in their specific social, cultural, political, and economic context is necessary to understand how young peoples’ lives intersect with fragility dynamics. The paper aims to highlight that the relationship between youth, unemployment, underemployment, livelihoods, and fragility is far more complex than is often recognized and should not be exaggerated or taken out of context.