Active Travel to and From School Among School-Age Children During 1997–2011 and Associated Factors in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 684-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang ◽  
Xue Hong ◽  
James G. Gurney ◽  
Youfa Wang

Background:Active travel to school (ATS) is positively associated with various health indicators. The rapid social, economic, and environmental changes in China provide a unique setting to study changes and predictors of ATS over time.Methods:Using logistic regression modeling, we analyzed data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey during 1997 to 2011 (N = 9487, ages 6 to 17 years) to estimate the change over time in ATS and to identify associated factors.Results:The prevalence of reported ATS among children dropped from 95.8% in 1997 to 69.3% in 2011. ATS was common in children living closer to school, in middle school, from low-income households, with low parental education status, and those without a private vehicle. Children who were living in a metropolitan area and who had more than 40 minutes of total PA per day were less likely to report ATS.Conclusions:The decrease of ATS had been concurrent with the increase of the children living at a longer distance from school and the increase of household owning private vehicles which were associated with the rapid urbanization and economic growth in China. Factors associated with the decreased ATS in China are similar to other countries but the underlying reasons may be different.

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Kakinami ◽  
Tracie Barnett ◽  
Gilles Paradis

Background: One-quarter of children are already overweight or obese when they enter preschool, underscoring a critical need to improve our understanding of childhood determinants of health, including both sociodemographic (such as poverty) and social-familial influences (such as parenting style), as well as how these determinants may interact with one another. Objective: To examine the effects of parenting style on the risk of obesity in youth and determine if poverty is a mediator or moderator for this association. Methods: Participants (age 0-11) were from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), a representative cross-sectional survey of youth collected bi-annually (1994-2008) throughout Canada. Factor analysis identified 4 parenting styles consistent with Baumrind’s theory of authoritative (demanding and responsive), authoritarian (demanding but not responsive), permissive (responsive but not demanding), and negligent (not demanding and not responsive) parenting control prototypes. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the risk of a child being obese (BMI percentile ≥ 97.7 th compared to age- and sex-specific WHO growth curves) based on parenting style after adjusting for age, sex, parental education, immigration status, family functioning score, birth order, and maternal age. Analyses were stratified by age (younger: 2-5 years of age, n=19,026; school-age: 6-11 years of age, n=18,551) due to age-related differences in parenting styles. Mediation or moderation by poverty (household income < low income cut-offs adjusted for household size and geographic region) was assessed. Analyses used sampling and bootstrap weights. Results: Younger children’s parents were primarily authoritative (42%, n=7357), followed by negligent (22%, n=3763), permissive (20%, n=3436), and authoritarian (16%, n=4470). Parenting styles in school-age children were similar (authoritative: 32%, n=7195, negligent: 31%, n=5586, permissive: 22%, n=3850, authoritarian: 15%, n=1920). In multivariable analyses, compared to authoritative parenting, younger and school-age children with authoritarian parents were 30% (95% CI: 1.1-1.5, p=0.0002) and 37% (CI: 1.1-1.7, p=0.006) more likely to be obese, respectively. In younger children, poverty moderated this association: authoritarian and negligent parenting was associated with 39% (CI: 1.2-1.6, p<0.0001) and 28% (CI: 1.1-1.5, p=0.002) increased risk of obesity, respectively, only among the children not living in poverty. In school-age children, poverty was not a mediator or moderator. Conclusions: Parenting style is associated with a child’s risk of obesity but is moderated by poverty in younger children. Successful strategies to combat childhood obesity need to reflect the independent and interactive effects of sociodemographic and social-familial influences on health especially in early childhood.


2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 484-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosuke Inoue ◽  
Annie Green Howard ◽  
Amanda L Thompson ◽  
Penny Gordon-Larsen

BackgroundLittle attention has been paid to how the association between urbanisation and abdominal adiposity changes over the course of economic development in low-income and middle-income countries.MethodsData came from the China Health and Nutrition Survey waves 1993–2011 (seven waves). A mixed linear model was used to investigate the association between community-level urbanisation with waist-to-height ratio (WHtR; an indicator of abdominal adiposity). We incorporated interaction terms between urbanisation and study waves to understand how the association changed over time. The analyses were stratified by age (children vs adults).ResultsAdult WHtR was positively associated with urbanisation in earlier waves but became inversely associated over time. More specifically, a 1 SD increase in the urbanisation index was associated with higher WHtR by 0.002 and 0.005 in waves 1993 and 1997, while it was associated with lower WHtR by 0.001 in 2011. Among child participants, the increase in WHtR over time was predominantly observed in more urbanised communities.ConclusionOur study suggests a shift in adult abdominal adiposity from more urbanised communities to less urbanised communities over a time of rapid economic development in China. Children living in more urbanised communities had higher increase in abdominal obesity with urbanisation over time relative to children living in less urbanised communities.


Author(s):  
Alejandro Mosiño ◽  
Karen P. Villagómez-Estrada ◽  
Alberto Prieto-Patrón

In school age children and adolescents, anemia might cause lower cognitive function and attention span, which in turn could diminish human capital accumulation. As children born in low-income households are more likely to be anemic, this may prevent many individuals from overcoming the intergenerational poverty traps. In this paper, we used data from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 and focused on a sample of adolescents between 12 and 19 years of age to study the relationship between attending school without delay—our proxy for school performance—and anemia. We found a statistically significant association between the two variables. If this relationship is causal, the economic burden linked to the loss of school years could well exceed the costs associated with programs aimed at reducing the prevalence of anemia in vulnerable populations. Our results provide additional support to the existing literature on anemia as a significant barrier to school achievement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 960-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Herke ◽  
Katharina Rathmann ◽  
Matthias Richter

Abstract Background Subjective well-being (SWB) is an important indicator of quality of life, but prior research mostly analyzed adolescents’ subjective well-being in cross-sectional studies. There is a lack of studies examining changes in subjective well-being throughout adolescence using longitudinal panel data. This study examined trajectories of subjective well-being of adolescents in Germany throughout secondary education and differences by socioeconomic position, gender and family structure. Methods We use the German National Educational Panel Study and combine data from annual survey waves of two of its cohorts. These were first surveyed in 2010 and cover 5th to 10th and 9th to 12th grade level. Using growth curve modelling based on multilevel models, differences in levels and trajectories of subjective well-being overall and differentiated by school type, parental education, household income, gender and family structure were identified. The analyses include 34 504 observations of 12 564 students. Results Subjective well-being decreased from 5th to 12th grade. Students attending lower track schools showed lower subjective well-being, but also a lesser decrease over time. Students living in low-income households or in single-parent or step-families showed lower subjective well-being. Female students showed higher subjective well-being than males in 5th grade, but also a higher decrease over time, leading to lower subjective well-being than males by 12th grade. Conclusion This study provides a comprehensive picture of subjective well-being throughout secondary education. Adolescents’ subjective well-being is linked to social factors regarding family and living conditions as well as school features. Overall, disadvantaged adolescents experience longer periods of lower subjective well-being, thus accumulating the effects of worse psychosocial health opportunities over time.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Gizachew Tilahun Belete ◽  
Assefa Lake Fenta ◽  
Mohammed Seid Hussen

Introduction. Xerophthalmia is a general term applied to all the ocular manifestations from night blindness through complete corneal destruction (keratomalacia) due to vitamin A deficiency. Xerophthalmia is the main contributing factors for childhood blindness in developing countries. However, there is limited evidence that can implicate the current situation. This study aimed to determine the magnitude of xerophthalmia and associated factors among school-age children in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 490 children, age range of 6 to 12 years. The study participants were selected through systematic random sampling method. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire and ophthalmic examination with different ophthalmic instruments. The analyzed result was summarized and presented using descriptive statistics. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with xerophthalmia. Variables with a p value of <0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression analysis were considered as statistically significant. Results. A total of 484 study participants with a response rate of 98.8 were involved in this study, and their median age was 8 years with IQR of 4 years. The prevalence of xerophthalmia was 8.26% (95% CI: 5.8, 10.7). Family income less than 1000 Ethiopian birr (AOR = 4.65, 95% CI: 1.31, 16.4), presence of febrile illness (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.49, 6.11), poor consumption of fruits and vegetables (AOR = 3.18, 95% CI: 1.30, 7.80), and nonimmunized status (AOR = 3.43, 95% CI: 1.49, 7.89) were significantly associated with xerophthalmia. Conclusions and recommendations. The prevalence of xerophthalmia was high as compared to the World Health Organization criteria for public health significance. Factors identified for xerophthalmia in this study are low income, the poor dietary practice of fruits and vegetables, and the presence of febrile illness and not immunized. Hence, it is a public problem that needs attention.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261199
Author(s):  
Haijun Guo ◽  
Dung Phung ◽  
Cordia Chu

Objective Evidence shows sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is a risk factor for obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in children. Investigating the influential profiles, which have been examined insufficiently, will help to inform the reduction of SSB consumption. The present research examines the current trend in SSB consumption and associated factors among children in China, in order to inform policy development. Methods Secondary data was extracted from China’s Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS; 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011), a repeated cross-sectional research, and a Chi-squared test was applied to compare SSB consumption in the last year, queried by social demographical, `environmental, behavioral, and parental factors. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was employed to examine the trend and effects of the multiple factors. Results A total of 6015 Chinese children aged 6–17 years were investigated. From 2004 to 2011, the percentage of SSB consumption in children increased from 72.6% to 90.3%. The prevalence in urban areas was higher than the prevalence in rural areas, higher in high schools than primary and middle schools, higher in east coast affluent provinces than other provinces, and higher in high-income households than low-income households. Other associated factors include children’s fast food and salty snacks preference, level of physical activity, sedentariness, and parental education. The strongest association with SSB consumption in children was the mother’s SSB consumption (adjusted odds ratio: 5.54, 95% CI: 3.17–9.67). Conclusion Children’s SSB consumption has increased significantly in China, and is associated with socio-economic, demographic, level of physical activity, food preference, and parental factors. Future strategies aimed at reducing SSB consumption among children need to consider these factors.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan C. Lo ◽  
Sam Heft-Neal ◽  
Jean T. Coulibaly ◽  
Leslie Leonard ◽  
Eran Bendavid ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionMass deworming against soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) is a hallmark program in the neglected tropical diseases portfolio that is designed to be equitable and “pro-poor”. However, the extent to which current deworming treatment programs achieve equitable coverage across wealth class and gender remains unclear, and the current public health metric of national deworming coverage does not include representation of inequity. This study develops a framework to measure both coverage and equity in global deworming to guide future programmatic evaluation, investment, and metric design.MethodsWe used nationally representative, geospatial household survey data that measured mother-reported deworming receipt in pre-school age children (age 1-4 years) in the previous 6 months. We estimated global deworming coverage disaggregated by geography, wealth quintile and gender and computed an equity index. We examined trends in coverage and equity index across countries, within countries, and over time. We used a regression model to compute the household correlates of deworming receipt and ecological correlates of equitable deworming.FindingsOur study included 820,883 pre-school age children living in 50 STH-endemic countries between 2004 and 2017. Globally, the mean global deworming coverage in pre-school children was estimated at 36%. The sub-national coverage ranged from 0.5% to 87.5%, and within-country variation was greater than between-country variation in coverage. The equity index was undesirable (deworming was consistently concentrated in the wealthier populations) in every endemic region of 12 countries. Of the 31 study countries that WHO reported achieving the goal of 75% national coverage, 26 had persistent inequity in deworming as defined by the mean equity index. Deworming equity modestly improved over time, and within-country variation in inequity decreased over time. We did not detect differences in deworming equity by gender. We found the strongest household correlates of deworming to be vitamin A supplementation and receipt of three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (DTP3), while the strongest ecological predictors of equitable deworming were regions with higher coverage of health services such as DTP3 and vitamin A supplementation.InterpretationAlthough mass deworming is considered to be “pro-poor”, we find substantial inequities by wealth, despite often high reported national coverage. These inequities appear to be geographically heterogeneous, modestly improving over time, and we found no evidence of gender differences in inequity. Future reporting of deworming coverage should consider disaggregation by geography, wealth, and gender with incorporation of an equity index to complement national deworming coverage.FundingBill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Stanford University Medical Scientist Training Program


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arefeh Shahi

Background: Postpartum depression with a different incidence of 40- 45% in different societies, which it has adverse effects on the health of mothers and their child, given the negative effects of maternal depression and its harmful effects on the baby and the quality of family life. So, this study was performed with the aim to determine postpartum depression and its associated factors in Bandar Abbas city. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 after obtaining consent from mothers by the census. A total of 343 mothers was examined for depression who referred to Bandar Abbas health centers in the 2nd and 4th months after childbirth. The data collection tools included demographic information and Postpartum Depression Edinburgh questionnaires. Finally, the statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (version 22.0) software and data were analyzed using the Independent t-test, Mann Whitney, Chi-square, and Fisher exact tests.Result: Totally, 68 (19.8%) of samples were in the second month and 54 (15.7%) in the fourth month after delivery had postpartum depression. The incidence of depression in the four months was 6.6%. There was a significant difference between depression and income, parental education, father’s use of cigarette and abnormalities of the infant (P <0.001). There was no significant difference between other factors such as gestational age, infant sex, birth weight, unwanted pregnancy, and type of delivery. Conclusion: Regarding the prevalence of this disorder, it seems that postpartum depression screening planning should be considered during child routine care as an essential component, especially for vulnerable groups.


2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 469-476
Author(s):  
S.R.A. Soares ◽  
R.S. Bernardes

The sanitary problems promoted by the rapid urbanization process in developing cities are usually resulted from the absence of planning, high population concentration and inadequate water and wastewater infrastructure for low income people. Because the provision and planning of water supply and is a complex task, a modeling approach was used to enhance the understanding of the process and the aspects involved. In the development of a model, not only the technical aspects were taken into account, but other aspects related to the provision of drinking water and the water resources protection were also analyzed, such as institutional, financial, socioeconomic, environmental and public health. In the modeling process two different methods of conceptualization were used to describe the urban water flow through the water and wastewater systems linked to various aspects related to their implementation in large developing cities. The urban water systems of five large metropolitan areas in Brazil were also evaluated for the complete model. It is expected that the modeling approach developed in this paper consists of a valuable methodology for water supply and sanitation planning in Brazilian cities, and other developing cities with the same characteristics. The suggested conceptual model could, at least, provide more than a starting point for a useful urban water management tool.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5549
Author(s):  
Lei Kang ◽  
Zhaoping Yang ◽  
Fang Han

Rapid urbanization promotes the expansion of urban tourism and recreation functions, but it also brings many problems, which affect residents’ happiness. Previous studies have emphasized the direct impact of urban recreation environment on happiness, and few have explored the indirect impact of urban recreation environment on happiness through subjective evaluation. Based on the survey data of nearly 10,000 permanent residents in 40 key tourism cities in China, this paper establishes a theoretical framework of the direct and indirect impact of urban recreation environment on happiness. The objective evaluation of natural recreation environment and sociocultural recreation environment has an important influence on happiness, but the influence of natural recreation environment is greater than that of sociocultural recreation environment. Individual subjective satisfaction with urban recreation environment mediates the relationship between urban objective environment and happiness. Urban parks have a positive effect on happiness, while tourist attractions have a negative effect. The influence of urban location on happiness is nonlinear. The high-income group is more sensitive to the recreation environment, while the low-income group is less sensitive to the recreation environment. These findings provide insights for further improving citizens’ quality of life and designing urban construction in developing countries under the conditions of rapid urbanization.


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