Residential area deprivation predicts smoking habit independently of individual educational level and occupational social class. A cross sectional study in the Norfolk cohort of the European Investigation into Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk)

ObjectiveTo derive estimates of the associations between measures of the retail food environments and mean body mass index (BMI) in Jamaica, a middle-income country with increasing prevalence of obesity.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingData from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2008 (JHLS II), a nationally representative population-based survey that recruited persons at their homes over a 4-month period from all 14 parishes and 113 neighbourhoods defined as enumeration districts.ParticipantsA subsample of 2529 participants aged 18–74 years from the JHLS II who completed interviewer-administered surveys, provided anthropometric measurements and whose addresses were geocoded.Primary outcome measureMean BMI, calculated as weight divided by height squared (kg/m2).ResultsThere was significant clustering across neighbourhoods for mean BMI (intraclass correlation coefficients=4.16%). Fully adjusted models revealed higher mean BMI among women, with further distance away from supermarkets (β=0.12; 95% CI 8.20×10−3, 0.24; p=0.036) and the absence of supermarkets within a 1 km buffer zone (β=1.36; 95% CI 0.20 to 2.52; p=0.022). A 10 km increase in the distance from a supermarket was associated with a 1.7 kg/m2 higher mean BMI (95% CI 0.03 to 0.32; p=0.020) in the middle class. No associations were detected with fast-food outlets or interaction by urbanicity.ConclusionsHigher mean BMI in Jamaicans may be partially explained by the presence of supermarkets and markets and differ by sex and social class. National efforts to curtail obesity in middle-income countries should consider interventions focused at the neighbourhood level that target the location and density of supermarkets and markets and consider sex and social class-specific factors that may be influencing the associations.

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Tobacco Use among Adolescents of a Public School of Kaski District

Journal of Health and Allied Sciences ◽

10.37107/jhas.101 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 59-63

Author(s):

Sailaja Sharma ◽

Ratna Shila Banstola ◽

Sakuntala Pageni

Keyword(s):

Public School ◽

Tobacco Use ◽

Smoking Habit ◽

Peer Pressure ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Family Influence ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Self Administered Questionnaire

Introduction: Tobacco is one of the proven risk factors, contributes substantially to the rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of tobacco use and associated factors among adolescents of a selected public School in Kaski district. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was adopted and data was collected with self-administered questionnaire from 168 respondents. Results: The prevalence of tobacco-use was 19.6 percent and mean age of initiation was13.84 years. The most common reasons for smoking were peer pressure (63.3%), imitation (27.3%), family influence (27.3%) and quest for new experience (21.2%). Tobacco-use was strongly associated with ethnicity (p=0.03), mother's education level (p=0.02), father's occupation (p=0.03), peer pressure (p=0.01) and friends smoking habit (p=0.03). Conclusion: Tobacco-focused interventions are required for school going adolescents to promote cessation among users and prevent its initiation.

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Antenatal care among women in Chitwan district of Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.3126/jhp.v9i01.40968 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (01) ◽

pp. 74-86

Author(s):

Sharmila Pokharel ◽

Ram Krishna Maharjan

Keyword(s):

Antenatal Care ◽

Educational Level ◽

Health Workers ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Reproductive Age ◽

Care Utilization ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Community

Antenatal care is one of the most effective measures to reduce maternal mortality in Lower Middle-income Countries. The study aims to assess the utilization of antenatal care and related factors by breastfeeding mothers in Chitwan district of Nepal. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Bharatpur municipality in April 2020, among all women of the reproductive age group (15-49) who have had a birth child in the last 12 months before the survey date. A census sampling technique was used to select respondents. The vaccination period was two weeks. All the mothers who came to the vaccine center to vaccinate their children were the respondents of this study. The data were collected by using an interview schedule. The collected data were managed using SPSS Version 20. The study found that 84.31 percent of respondents attended more than four antenatal care utilization. The educational level of the respondents and the occupation of their partners were linked to the use of antenatal care. The number of pregnancies, the number of live births, the place of delivery, and the educational level and occupations of the birth attendees were also significantly linked to the use of antenatal care. Community mobilization and intensive use of community health workers are essential factors to improve the use of antenatal care.

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Cigarette smoking and metabolic syndrome components: a cross-sectional study from Maracaibo City, Venezuela

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.14571.3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 565 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Valmore Bermudez ◽

Luis Carlos Olivar ◽

Wheeler Torres ◽

Carla Navarro ◽

Robys Gonzalez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Cigarette Smoking ◽

Smoking Habit ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Abdominal Circumference ◽

Related Factor ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Former Smokers ◽

Metabolic Syndrome Components

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that cigarette smoking can cause the onset of metabolic syndrome prior to cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between smoking habit and metabolic syndrome components in an adult population from Maracaibo city, Venezuela. Methods: The Maracaibo City Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence Study is a descriptive, cross-sectional study with random and multi-stage sampling. In this sub-study, 2212 adults from both genders were selected. On the basis of their medical background, they were classified as smokers, non-smokers and former smokers. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to Harmonizing 2009 criteria, using population-specific abdominal circumference cut-off points. The association between risk factors was evaluated using a logistic regression model. Results: In the studied population, 14.8% were smokers, 15.4% were former smokers. In the multivariate analysis, the presence of metabolic syndrome (smokers: OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.11–2.14; p=0.010) and its components were related to cigarette smoking, with the exception of hyperglycemia. High blood pressure was inversely associated with current smoking status (smokers: OR, 0.70 (0.51–0.95); p=0.025). Conclusion: Cigarette smoking represents a related factor with metabolic syndrome, being associated with low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, increased abdominal circumference and elevated triacylglyceride levels. Former smokers did not present a greater risk for developing this metabolic disease when compared to non-smokers. The effect of avoiding this habit should be evaluated in future studies in our population.

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Knowledge and attitude of the communities towards COVID-19 and associated factors among Gondar City residents, northwest Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional study

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0248821 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0248821

Author(s):

Asefa Adimasu Taddese ◽

Zelalem Nigussie Azene ◽

Mehari Woldemariam Merid ◽

Atalay Goshu Muluneh ◽

Demiss Mulatu Geberu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Family Size ◽

Educational Level ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Community Based ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Knowledge And Attitude ◽

Significant Factors

Background COVID-19 is the novel coronavirus responsible for the ongoing global outbreak of acute respiratory disease and viral pneumonia. In order to tackle the devastating condition of the virus, countries need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics. Thus, to strengthen the COVID-19 mitigation measures and to give rapid response, there is an urgent need to understand the public’s knowledge and attitude about of the pandemic at this critical moment. Objective This study was aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of communities about COVID-19 and associated factors among Gondar City residents. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was done among 623 respondents in Gondar city from April 20-27/2020. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from different literatures. The data were entered using Epi data version 3.1 and then exported into STATA version 14 for analysis. Bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression were performed. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI was used to declare statistically significant variables on the basis of p value less than 0.05 in the multivariable binary logistic regression model. Results The overall knowledge and attitude of the community towards COVID19 was 51.85% [95% CI (47.91%-55.78%)] and 53.13% [95% CI (49.20, 57.06%)], respectively. In this study, being married [AOR = 0.60 at 95% CI: (0.42, 0.86)], educational level; primary [AOR = 3.14 at 95% CI: (1.78,5.54)], secondary [AOR = 2.81 at 95% CI: (1.70,4.63)], college and above [AOR = 4.49 at 95% CI: 7.92, 13.98)], and family size [AOR = 1.80, at 95% CI: (1.05, 3.08)] were emerged as statistically significant factors impacting the knowledge of the community about COVID-19. Besides, educational level; primary [AOR = 1.76 at 95% CI: (1.03, 3.01)], secondary [AOR = 1.69 at 95% CI: (1.07, 2.68)], and college & above [AOR = 2.38 at 95% CI: (1.50, 3.79)], and family size; four to six members [AOR = 1.84 at 95% CI (1.27, 2.67)], above seven members [AOR = 1.79 at 95% CI (1.08, 2.96)] were factors identified as significantly attribute for positive attitude of the communities towards COVID-19. Conclusion More than half of the respondents had better knowledge and attitude regarding COVID-19. Higher educational level and larger family size were significant factors predominantly affecting the knowledge and attitude of the communities towards COVID-19.

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