scholarly journals How to evaluate the effect of seven years of the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (2007–2014) on fruit, vegetable and snack consumption and weight status: A natural experiment

2019 ◽  
pp. 140349481987592
Author(s):  
Ingrid Marie Hovdenak ◽  
Tonje Holte Stea ◽  
Per Magnus ◽  
Steinar Krokstad ◽  
Oddrun Samdal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Child Growth ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Norwegian School ◽  
The Impact

Aim: From August 2007 to June 2014, the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (NSFS) legally established that all pupils in junior high and combined schools (275,000 pupils every year), but not those in primary schools (343,000 pupils every year), were entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable every school day. The NSFS is a natural experiment, unique in terms of scope and lengthiness. Such governmental efforts to improve the diet of the public are rarely evaluated. Thus, an evaluation of the comprehensive, well-designed NSFS is warranted. The aim was to describe how the NSFS can be evaluated using existing data sets. Methods: Four data sets have been identified for the evaluation of the NSFS: (a) the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, (b) the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, (c) the Norwegian Child Growth Study/Growth in Teenagers and (d) Health Behaviour in School Aged Children. These comprehensive studies have collected cross-sectional or longitudinal data providing information about children’s dietary consumption and/or weight status, which can be utilised in the evaluation of the NSFS. Both short- and long-term effects of the NSFS related to dietary habits and weight status and the potential effect of moderators such as socio-economic status, sex, ethnicity and the age of children and adolescents can be studied. Conclusions: Worldwide, there is a lack of well-designed, long-term studies evaluating the impact of governmental efforts to improve public diet. The present study describes how the NSFS can be evaluated using data from four large data sets on eating habits and weight status.

scholarly journals Survival Among Patients With Pancreatic Cancer and Long-Standing or Recent-Onset Diabetes Mellitus

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Yuan ◽  
Douglas A. Rubinson ◽  
Zhi Rong Qian ◽  
Chen Wu ◽  
Peter Kraft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Median Survival ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Survival Times ◽  
Recent Onset ◽  
Onset Diabetes ◽  
Diabetes Status ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Long-standing diabetes is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer, and recent-onset diabetes in the several years before diagnosis is a consequence of subclinical pancreatic malignancy. However, the impact of diabetes on survival is largely unknown. Patients and Methods We analyzed survival by diabetes status among 1,006 patients diagnosed from 1986 to 2010 from two prospective cohort studies: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). We validated our results among 386 patients diagnosed from 2004 to 2013 from a clinic-based case series at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for death using Cox proportional hazards models, with adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking, diagnosis year, and cancer stage. Results In NHS and HPFS, HR for death was 1.40 (95% CI, 1.15 to 1.69) for patients with long-term diabetes (> 4 years) compared with those without diabetes (P < .001), with median survival times of 3 months for long-term diabetics and 5 months for nondiabetics. Adjustment for a propensity score to reduce confounding by comorbidities did not change the results. Among DFCI patient cases, HR for death was 1.53 (95% CI, 1.07 to 2.20) for those with long-term diabetes compared with those without diabetes (P = .02), with median survival times of 9 months for long-term diabetics and 13 months for nondiabetics. Compared with nondiabetics, survival times were shorter for long-term diabetics who used oral hypoglycemics or insulin. We observed no statistically significant association of recent-onset diabetes (< 4 years) with survival. Conclusion Long-standing diabetes was associated with statistically significantly decreased survival among patients with pancreatic cancer enrolled onto three longitudinal studies.

scholarly journals The Impact of Green Credit on the Green Innovation Level of Heavy-Polluting Enterprises—Evidence from China

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Zhifeng Zhang ◽  
Hongyan Duan ◽  
Shuangshuang Shan ◽  
Qingzhi Liu ◽  
Wenhui Geng
Keyword(s):  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Double Difference ◽  
Credit Policy ◽  
Green Innovation ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Corporate Credit ◽  
Credit Financing ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

This article uses the “Green Credit Guidelines” promulgated in 2012 as an example to construct a quasi-natural experiment and uses the double difference method to test the impact of the implementation of the “Green Credit Guidelines” on the green innovation activities of heavy-polluting enterprises. The study found that, in comparison to non-heavy polluting enterprises, the implementation of green credit policies inhibited the green innovation of all heavy-polluting enterprises. In the analysis of heterogeneity, this restraint effect did not differ significantly due to the nature of property rights and the company’s size. The mechanism test showed that green credit policy limits the efficiency of business investment and increases the cost of financing business debt. Eliminating corporate credit financing, particularly long-term borrowing, negatively impacts the green innovation behavior of listed companies.

Changes Over Time

2018 ◽  
pp. 283-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Gell ◽  
Marie-Elodie Perga ◽  
C. Max Finlayson
Keyword(s):  
Data Sets ◽  
Lake Ecosystems ◽  
Wetland Ecosystems ◽  
Sediment Layers ◽  
Time Frames ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Term Monitoring ◽  
Term Data

Freshwater systems are continuously shaped by cyclical and directional forces of change, whether they be natural or anthropogenic. Beyond gradual transitions disturbances can reset their internal dynamics generating an abrupt ecological shift. Long-term data sets of gradual or abrupt change can be accessed by exhuming the physical, chemical, and biological remains archived in the sediment layers within lakes and wetlands. Long-term monitoring programmes offer more detailed evidence, usually over shorter time frames. In combination these records attest to the response of wetlands to climate and the impact of industrialised people. Humans have modified lake ecosystems for millennia and the condition of many wetland ecosystems have changed such that they are now regarded as novel. Long-term records provide targets for wetland restoration and can identify the main drivers of degradation. Identification of the character of modern Ramsar wetlands may be enhanced by reference to records of past state.

scholarly journals Rationale and Design of the Hamburg City Health Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Jagodzinski ◽  
Christoffer Johansen ◽  
Uwe Koch-Gromus ◽  
Ghazal Aarabi ◽  
Gerhard Adam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Routine Data ◽  
Health Care Use ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Imaging Biomarker ◽  
Risk And Resilience

Abstract The Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS) is a large, prospective, long-term, population-based cohort study and a unique research platform and network to obtain substantial knowledge about several important risk and prognostic factors in major chronic diseases. A random sample of 45,000 participants between 45 and 74 years of age from the general population of Hamburg, Germany, are taking part in an extensive baseline assessment at one dedicated study center. Participants undergo 13 validated and 5 novel examinations primarily targeting major organ system function and structures including extensive imaging examinations. The protocol includes validate self-reports via questionnaires regarding lifestyle and environmental conditions, dietary habits, physical condition and activity, sexual dysfunction, professional life, psychosocial context and burden, quality of life, digital media use, occupational, medical and family history as well as healthcare utilization. The assessment is completed by genomic and proteomic characterization. Beyond the identification of classical risk factors for major chronic diseases and survivorship, the core intention is to gather valid prevalence and incidence, and to develop complex models predicting health outcomes based on a multitude of examination data, imaging, biomarker, psychosocial and behavioral assessments. Participants at risk for coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke and dementia are invited for a visit to conduct an additional MRI examination of either heart or brain. Endpoint assessment of the overall sample will be completed through repeated follow-up examinations and surveys as well as related individual routine data from involved health and pension insurances. The study is targeting the complex relationship between biologic and psychosocial risk and resilience factors, chronic disease, health care use, survivorship and health as well as favorable and bad prognosis within a unique, large-scale long-term assessment with the perspective of further examinations after 6 years in a representative European metropolitan population.

scholarly journals Examining the impact of a summer learning program on children’s weight status and cardiorespiratory fitness: A natural experiment

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 84-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan T. Hunt ◽  
Michelle L. Whitfield ◽  
Keith Brazendale ◽  
Michael W. Beets ◽  
R. Glenn Weaver
Keyword(s):  
Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Summer Learning ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The Impact of Non-uniform Sampling on Stratospheric Ozone Trends Derived from Occultation Instruments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Damadeo ◽  
Joseph M. Zawodny ◽  
Ellis E. Remsberg ◽  
Kaley A. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Sampled Data ◽  
Uniform Sampling ◽  
Ozone Trends ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Non Uniform Sampling ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper applies a recently developed technique for deriving long-term trends in ozone from sparsely sampled data sets to multiple occultation instruments simultaneously without the need for homogenization. The technique can compensate for the non-uniform temporal, spatial, and diurnal sampling of the different instruments and can also be used to account for biases and drifts between instruments. These problems have been noted in recent international assessments as being a primary source of uncertainty that clouds the significance of derived trends. Results show potential recovery trends of ~ 2–3 %/decade in the upper stratosphere at mid-latitudes, which are similar to other studies, and also how sampling biases present in these data sets can create differences in derived "recovery" trends of up to ~ 1 %/decade if not properly accounted for. Limitations inherent to all techniques (e.g., relative instrument drifts) and their impacts (e.g., trend differences up to ~ 2 %/decade) are also described and a potential path forward towards resolution is presented.

scholarly journals Outliers in Mixed Models for Monthly Average Temperatures

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes Andrade-Bejarano ◽  
Nicholas T. Longford
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Models ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
Monthly Average ◽  
Recording Process ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Site Variation ◽  
Valle Del Cauca ◽  
The Impact

Long-term series of monthly average temperatures taken at 28 sites in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, are studied. Mixed models are applied to cater for the within- and between-site variation. Outliers are inevitable in such studies, due to faulty equipment, slip-ups in the recording process, or unusual weather patterns. We apply a simulation-based approach to the assessment of the outlier status of suspected observations. It is a method based on graphical comparisons of user-defined features, related to large residuals, in the real andsimulated data sets. Robustness in the identification of the outliers is achieved by applying the procedure with several alternative models. The impact of the identified outliers is assessed. Two meteorological stations, Zaragoza and Monteloro, are identified as having many outliers, so that all the data from them should be discarded.

scholarly journals Dietary Patterns and Weight Status in Italian Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Children

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 4039
Author(s):  
Benedetta Raspini ◽  
Margherita Prosperi ◽  
Letizia Guiducci ◽  
Elisa Santocchi ◽  
Raffaella Tancredi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Food Selectivity ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

Atypical eating habits are more common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) than typically developing (TD) peers. Feeding problems may lead to the double burden of specific nutrient deficiencies and excessive weight gain, with a consequent increase in obesity prevalence. The dietary intake of Italian preschoolers with ASD compared to their TD peers and the impact of their dietary choices on their weight status and relationship to food selectivity (FS) were investigated. Dietary patterns and their associations with body mass index (BMI) were evaluated in 65 children with ASD and 82 peers with TD aged 1.3–6.4 years. Eating habits were assessed with a modified version of a parent-rated semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. Moreover, the prevalence of FS and possible links with dietary patterns and BMI were investigated in the ASD group. Children with ASD consumed significantly higher amounts of simple sugars, processed and ultra-processed carbohydrates, both low- and high-fat animal proteins, and lower amounts of vegetables and fruits compared to peers with TD. The obesity rate was 1.5% in children with TD and more than fourfold (6.2%) in children with ASD, although the difference between groups was not statistically significant. FS was significantly more frequent in children with ASD than in peers with TD. Children with ASD and FS showed significantly lower annual intakes of vegetable proteins and fiber (considered essential nutrients for a healthy diet) than children with ASD without FS. Our results showed that children with ASD showed different dietary habits than those with TD, with the higher consumption of energy-dense foods and lower amounts of food-sourced fibers, which could place them at increased risk to develop overweight, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies later in life.

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