scholarly journals On the interplay between educational attainment and nutrition: a spatially-aware perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Narges Azizi Fard ◽  
Gianmarco De Francisci Morales ◽  
Yelena Mejova ◽  
Rossano Schifanella
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Caloric Intake ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
High Educational Level ◽  
Spatial Effects ◽  
Higher Educational Attainment

AbstractFood choices are an integral part of wellbeing and longevity, yet poor nutrition is responsible for millions of deaths every year. Among the complex mosaic of determinants of food choices are demographic, socioeconomic, physiological, and also cultural. In this work, we explore the connection between educational attainment, as a proxy for cultural capital, and food purchases, as a proxy for food consumption. Unlike existing studies, which use diaries and surveys, we use a large-scale dataset of food-related products purchased from a major retailer in London over the course of one year. By using this high-resolution dataset, we are able to explore the spatial dependence of the various factors impacting food choices, and estimate their direct and indirect spatial effects. We characterize food consumption across two complementary dimensions of (1) diet composition, and (2) diet variety. By building spatial auto-regressive models on these variables, we obtain an improved fit compared to traditional regression, and illustrate the importance of spillover effects. Our results consistently confirm the association between a higher educational attainment and a healthier diet, even when controlling for spatial correlation. First, a low educational level is connected to diets high in carbohydrates and low in fibers. Second, it is also associated with higher consumption of sweets and red meats, while high educational level is linked to a greater consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fish. Third, highly-educated areas show an increased nutritional diversity, together with a lower caloric intake. Finally, we show the presence of spillover effects within the neighboring communities, which would need to be taken in consideration when designing public health policies and interventions.

scholarly journals Gestational Age, Parent Education, and Education in Adulthood

PEDIATRICS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Funck Bilsteen ◽  
Suvi Alenius ◽  
Magne Bråthen ◽  
Klaus Børch ◽  
Claus Thorn Ekstrøm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
High Educational Level ◽  
Parental Educational Level

BACKGROUND: Adults born preterm (<37 weeks) have lower educational attainment than those born term. Whether this relationship is modified by family factors such as socioeconomic background is, however, less well known. We investigated whether the relationship between gestational age and educational attainment in adulthood differed according to parents’ educational level in 4 Nordic countries. METHODS: This register-based cohort study included singletons born alive from 1987 up to 1992 in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. In each study population, we investigated effect modification by parents’ educational level (low, intermediate, high) on the association between gestational age at birth (25–44 completed weeks) and low educational attainment at 25 years (not having completed upper secondary education) using general estimation equations logistic regressions. RESULTS: A total of 4.3%, 4.0%, 4.8%, and 5.0% singletons were born preterm in the Danish (n = 331 448), Finnish (n = 220 095), Norwegian (n = 292 840), and Swedish (n = 513 975) populations, respectively. In all countries, both lower gestational age and lower parental educational level contributed additively to low educational attainment. For example, in Denmark, the relative risk of low educational attainment was 1.84 (95% confidence interval 1.44 to 2.26) in adults born at 28 to 31 weeks whose parents had high educational level and 5.25 (95% confidence interval 4.53 to 6.02) in adults born at 28 to 31 weeks whose parents had low educational level, compared with a reference group born at 39 to 41 weeks with high parental educational level. CONCLUSIONS: Although higher parental education level was associated with higher educational attainment for all gestational ages, parental education did not mitigate the educational disadvantages of shorter gestational age.

Sources of individual variation in Estonian toddlers’ expressive vocabulary

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 580-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Urm ◽  
Tiia Tulviste
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Higher Educational Attainment ◽  
The Relationship

The vocabulary size of 16- to 30-month-old children ( N = 1235) was assessed using the Estonian adaptation of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Sentences (ECDI-II). The relationship between children’s expressive vocabulary size and different factors of the child and his/her social environment was examined. Results confirm the findings of studies from other languages showing that girls have larger vocabularies than boys, and first-born children are at an advantage compared to later-born children. Children of highly educated parents have bigger vocabularies than children whose parents have a lower educational level; this effect was significant for both maternal and paternal education. It was found that children of less-educated fathers who spend a high amount of time per week (> 40 hours) in daycare have smaller vocabularies than children of fathers with higher educational attainment.

scholarly journals Constraints on food choices of women in the UK with lower educational attainment

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1229-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Barker ◽  
WT Lawrence ◽  
TC Skinner ◽  
CO Haslam ◽  
SM Robinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Higher Educational ◽  
Caucasian Women ◽  
Higher Educational Attainment ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Lower Educational Attainment

AbstractObjectiveWomen of lower educational attainment have less balanced and varied diets than women of higher educational attainment. The diets of women are vital to the long-term health of their offspring. The present study aimed to identify factors that influence the food choices of women with lower educational attainment and how women could be helped to improve those choices.DesignWe conducted eight focus group discussions with women of lower educational attainment to identify these factors. We contrasted the results of these discussions with those from three focus group discussions with women of higher educational attainment.SettingSouthampton, UK.SubjectsForty-two white Caucasian women of lower educational attainment and fourteen of higher educational attainment aged 18 to 44 years.ResultsThe dominant theme in discussions with women of lower educational attainment was their sense that they lacked control over food choices for themselves and their families. Partners and children exerted a high degree of control over which foods were bought and prepared. Women’s perceptions of the cost of healthy food, the need to avoid waste, being trapped at home surrounded by opportunities to snack, and having limited skill and experience with food, all contributed to their sense they lacked control over their own and their family’s food choices.ConclusionsAn intervention to improve the food choices of women with lower educational attainment needs to increase their sense of control over their diet and the foods they buy. This might include increasing their skills in food preparation.

scholarly journals Mechanisms linking teenage mothers’ educational attainment with self-reported health at age 50

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Maslowsky ◽  
C. Emily Hendrick ◽  
Haley Stritzel
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Determinant ◽  
Early Childbearing ◽  
Partner Characteristics ◽  
Higher Educational Attainment ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Social Determinant Of Health

Abstract Background Early childbearing is associated with adverse health and well-being throughout the life course for women in the United States. As education continues to be a modifiable social determinant of health after a young woman gives birth, the association of increased educational attainment with long-term health for women who begin childbearing as teenagers is worthy of investigation. Methods Data are from 301 mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 who gave birth prior to age 19. We estimated path models to assess women’s incomes, partner characteristics, and health behaviors at age 40 as mediators of the relationship between their educational attainment and self-rated general health at age 50. Results After accounting for observed background factors that select women into early childbearing and lower educational attainment, higher levels of education (high school diploma and GED attainment vs. no degree) were indirectly associated with higher self-rated health at age 50 via higher participant income at age 40. Conclusions As education is a social determinant of health that is amenable to intervention after a teen gives birth, our results are supportive of higher educational attainment as a potential pathway to improving long-term health outcomes of women who begin childbearing early.

scholarly journals Regional Disparity and Patients Mobility: Benefits and Spillover Effects of the Spatial Network Structure of the Health Services in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1096
Author(s):  
Liping Fu ◽  
Kaibo Xu ◽  
Feng Liu ◽  
Lu Liang ◽  
Zhengmin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Health Economic ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Health Economy ◽  
Spatial Network ◽  
Spatial Effects ◽  
Medical Resource ◽  
Medical Resources

Background: The distribution of medical resources in China is seriously imbalanced due to imbalanced economic development in the country; unbalanced distribution of medical resources makes patients try to seek better health services. Against this backdrop, this study aims to analyze the spatial network characteristics and spatial effects of China’s health economy, and then find evidence that affects patient mobility. Methods: Data for this study were drawn from the China Health Statistical Yearbooks and China Statistical Books. The gravitational value of China’s health spatial network was calculated to establish a network of gravitational relationships. The social network analysis method was used for centrality analysis and spillover effect analysis. Results: A gravity correlation matrix was constructed among provinces by calculating the gravitational value, indicating the spatial relationships of different provinces in the health economic network. Economically developed provinces, such as Shanghai and Jiangsu, are at the center of the health economic network (centrality degree = 93.333). These provinces also play a strong intermediary role in the network and have connections with other provinces. In the CONCOR analysis, 31 provinces are divided into four blocks. The spillover effect of the blocks indicates provinces with medical resource centers have beneficial effects, while provinces with insufficient resources have obvious spillover effects. Conclusion: There is a significant gap in the geographical distribution of medical resources, and the health economic spatial network structure needs to be improved. Most medical resources are concentrated in economically developed provinces, and these provinces’ positions in the health economic spatial network are becoming more centralized. By contrast, economically underdeveloped regions are at the edge of the network, causing patients to move to provinces with medical resource centers. There are health risks of the increasing pressure to seek medical treatment in developed provinces with abundant medical resources.

scholarly journals The mediating effect of lifestyles on the association between social factors and DNA methylation

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Maugeri ◽  
M Barchitta ◽  
G Favara ◽  
C La Mastra ◽  
MC La Rosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Mediterranean Diet ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Methylation Level ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
High Educational Level ◽  
Age Related ◽  
High Educational

Abstract Background Social disadvantage and unhealthy lifestyles may induce molecular changes associated with aging and age-related diseases. For instance, previous studies reported socioeconomic difference in DNA methylation, which in turn led to aberrant gene expression and genome instability. Socioeconomic status (SES) alone, however, does not completely explain this difference, and further studies are needed to unveil what factors contribute to it. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study on 349 Italian women, aged 25-64 years, to assess SES differences in LINE-1 methylation level - a surrogate marker of global DNA methylation - and to examine the mediating effect of lifestyles (i.e. diet, smoking habits, physical activity, and weight status). Educational level was used as SES indicator. The adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) was assessed by the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Leukocyte LINE-1 methylation was assessed by pyrosequencing. Mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro for the SPSS software. Results We first observed that women with high educational level were more likely to be normal weight (p < 0.001) and to adhere to MD (p = 0.018), and less likely to perform physical activity (p = 0.012) than their less educated counterpart. Moreover, age-adjusted linear regression demonstrated that LINE-1 methylation level increased with increasing educational level (β = 0.016; SE = 0.003; p < 0.001). In line, mediation analysis demonstrated an indirect effect of high educational level on LINE-1 methylation through the adherence to MD (β = 0.003; 95%CI=0.001-0.006). Specifically, the mediator could account for 9.5% of the total effect. None of the other lifestyles, instead, exhibited a significant mediating effect. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the mediation of diet in the relationship between SES and DNA methylation. Thus, our findings add even more value to the promotion of healthy dietary habits among social disadvantaged people. Key messages Social disadvantage is associated with epigenetic changes related to aging and age-related diseases. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet might mediate the association between socioeconomic status and DNA methylation.

scholarly journals The effects of physical restructuring on the socioeconomic status of neighbourhoods: Selective migration and upgrading

Urban Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 1647-1663
Author(s):  
Merle Zwiers ◽  
Maarten van Ham ◽  
Reinout Kleinhans
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
High Income ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Urban Restructuring ◽  
Deprived Neighbourhoods ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Main Instrument ◽  
Dutch Cities

In the last few decades, many governments have implemented urban restructuring programmes with the main goal of combating a variety of socioeconomic problems in deprived neighbourhoods. The main instrument of restructuring has been housing diversification and tenure mixing. The demolition of low-quality (social) housing and the construction of owner-occupied or private rented dwellings was expected to change the population composition of deprived neighbourhoods through the in-migration of middle- and high-income households. Many studies have been critical with regard to the success of such policies in actually upgrading neighbourhoods. Using data from the 31 largest Dutch cities for the 1999 to 2013 period, this study contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of large-scale demolition and new construction on neighbourhood income developments on a low spatial scale. We use propensity score matching to isolate the direct effects of policy by comparing restructured neighbourhoods with a set of control neighbourhoods with low demolition rates, but with similar socioeconomic characteristics. The results indicate that large-scale demolition leads to socioeconomic upgrading of deprived neighbourhoods as a result of attracting and maintaining middle- and high-income households. We find no evidence of spillover effects to nearby neighbourhoods, suggesting that physical restructuring only has very local effects.

scholarly journals Pregnant women and risk factors: a cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
V L a Fauci ◽  
R Squeri ◽  
C Genovese ◽  
V Alessi ◽  
A Facciolà
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
High Educational Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
High Educational

Abstract Background Many investigations have shown the important role played by risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol in the development of congenital anomalies. Methods Through the administration of an hoc questionnaire, we evaluated the attitude towards smoking and alcohol of a sample of 200 pregnant women at the University Hospital of Messina. The questionnaire was structured to collect information about socio-demographic characteristics, type of gynaecological assistance and their lifestyles (smoking and alcohol). Statistical analysis was performed using version 10 of StatSoftVR software. Results 14% of the women continued to smoke despite pregnancy; the majority of these were young adults, divorced, employed and with a high educational level. Correlating the smoking habit with the socio-demographic characteristics of the studied women, we found a statistically significant difference for the marital status, with a higher number of smokers among the single women (p < 0.05).Moreover, we found a statistically significant difference also for the profession with a higher number of smokers in the worker women (p < 0.05). About the drinking habit, the 4.3% declared to be moderate drinkers (occasional use of alcohol equal to 2-3 glasses a week) despite pregnancy, the 34.4% stated they do not drink alcohol during pregnancy and the 56% stated do not usually drink alcohol. Particularly, about the drinkers' socio-demographic characteristics, the 50% of them were 24-25 years old and the 75% were married. About the type of alcoholic beverages consumed, 86% stated they usually drink bier during the weekend. Conclusions Our study shows that the awareness of the women about the importance of these risk factors is still rather poor. In order to improve the awareness of pregnant women on the importance of avoiding these risk factors and prevent CAs, health education campaigns at various levels surely represent the public health cornerstone. Key messages In our sample 14% of the pregnant women continued to smoke and 4.3% to drink despite pregnancy and they generally were young or young adults and with a high educational level. Our results highlight the importance of continuous health education about the risk to smoke and drink during pregnancy.

scholarly journals Prevalence of low back pain in different educational levels: a systematic review

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 351-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Apolinário de Souza Batista ◽  
Nicholas Henschke ◽  
Vinícius Cunha Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Low Back Pain ◽  
Back Pain ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
High Educational Level ◽  
Low Back ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Educational Differences ◽  
High Educational

Abstract Introduction: Non-specific low back pain (LBP) can be understood through the interaction of biopsychosocial factors such as education. Unfortunately, it remains unclear whether education can be considered an important risk and prognostic factor for the occurrence of LBP. Objective: To investigate the association between education and LBP. Methods: The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, AMED and PsyINFO. Results: Thirteen studies were included in the review. The Prevalence Critical Appraisal Instrument (PCAI) was used to assess risk of bias. Methodological quality scores ranged from 7 to 10 on a scale of 0-10. There was a 23% (95% CI, 13-37) prevalence of LBP (10,582 out of a total of 99,457 cases) in the general sample at the time of assessment. The meta-analysis of studies on the prevalence of LBP in people with low, medium or high educational level found the following results, respectively: 24% (95% CI, 12-43), 27% (95% CI, 9-56), and 18% (95% CI, 5-50). The meta-regression identified heterogeneity among the studies included in the review. This can be explained by educational differences (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Occurrence of LBP varies according to educational level. Individuals with higher educational levels are less often affected by LBP than individuals with medium or low educational levels.

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