scholarly journals The relationship between psychosocial circumstances and injuries in adolescents: An analysis of 87,269 individuals from 26 countries using the Global School-based Student Health Survey

PLoS Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. e1003722
Author(s):  
Samiha Ismail ◽  
Maria Lisa Odland ◽  
Amman Malik ◽  
Misghina Weldegiorgis ◽  
Karen Newbigging ◽  
...  

Background Over a million adolescents die globally each year from preventable or treatable causes, with injuries (intentional and unintentional) being the leading cause of these deaths. To inform strategies to prevent these injuries, we aimed to assess psychosocial factors associated with serious injury occurrence, type, and mechanism in adolescents. Methods and findings We conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data collected from the Global School-based Student Health Survey between 2009 and 2015. We used logistic regression to estimate associations between prevalence of serious injuries, injury type (effects of injury), and injury mechanism (cause of injury) and psychosocial factors (factors that relate to individuals socially, or their thoughts or behaviour, or the interrelation between these variables). Psychosocial factors were categorised, based on review of the literature, author knowledge, and discussion amongst authors. The categories were markers of risky behaviour (smoking, alcohol use, drug use, and physical activity), contextual factors (hunger, bullying, and loneliness), protective factors (number of friends and having a supportive family), and markers of poor mental health (planned or attempted suicide and being too worried to sleep). Models were adjusted for country factors (geographical area and income status, both using World Bank classification), demographic factors (age and sex), and factors to explain the survey design. A total of 87,269 adolescents living in 26 countries were included. The weighted majority were 14–15 years old (45.88%), male (50.70%), from a lower-middle-income country (81.93%), and from East Asia and the Pacific (66.83%). The weighted prevalence of a serious injury in the last 12 months was 36.33%, with the rate being higher in low-income countries compared to other countries (48.74% versus 36.14%) and amongst males compared to females (42.62% versus 29.87%). Psychosocial factors most strongly associated with serious injury were being bullied (odds ratio [OR] 2.45, 95% CI 1.93 to 3.13, p < 0.001), drug use (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.73 to 2.49, p < 0.001), attempting suicide (OR 1.78, CI 1.55 to 2.04, p < 0.001), being too worried to sleep (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.54 to 2.10, p < 0.001), feeling lonely (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.37 to 1.89, p < 0.001), and going hungry (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.30 to 2.01, p < 0.001). Factors hypothesised to be protective were not associated with reduced odds of serious injury: Number of close friends was associated with an increased odds of injury (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.43, p = 0.007), as was having understanding parents or guardians (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.26, p = 0.036). Being bullied, using drugs, and attempting suicide were associated with most types of injury, and being bullied or too worried to sleep were associated with most mechanisms of injury; other psychosocial factors were variably associated with injury type and mechanism. Limitations include the cross-sectional study design, making it not possible to determine the directionality of the associations found, and the survey not capturing children who did not go to school. Conclusions We observed strong associations between serious injury and psychosocial factors, but we note the relationships are likely to be complex and our findings do not inform causality. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that multifactorial programmes to target psychosocial factors might reduce the number of serious injuries in adolescents, in particular programmes concentrating on reducing bullying and drug use and improving mental health.

Author(s):  
Moon-Sook Kim ◽  
Hyun-Myung Jung ◽  
Hyo-Yeon Lee ◽  
Jinhyun Kim

The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors of serious fall-related injuries by analyzing the differences between two fall groups: one with serious fall-related injuries and one without such injuries. Applying a retrospective, descriptive investigation study design, we analyzed the degree of fall-related injury and the risk factors related to serious falls by conducting a complete survey of the medical records of fall patients reported throughout one full year, 2017, at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. Among the patients with reported falls, 188 sustained no injury (63.1%), 72 sustained minor injury (24.2%), and 38 patients sustained serious injury (12.8%). The serious fall-related injuries included eight lacerations requiring suture (2.7%), 23 fractures (7.7%), five brain injuries (1.7%), and two deaths (0.7%). Analysis results indicated that taking anticoagulants/antiplatelet drugs (p = 0.016) and having a fall history (p = 0.038) were statistically significant in the differences between the group with serious injury related to falls and the group without serious injury. Logistic regression revealed that taking anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs was the factor most significantly correlated with serious injuries related to falls (OR = 2.299, p = 0.022). Results show that it is necessary to develop a patient-tailored fall prevention activity program.


2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lúcio Garcia de Oliveira ◽  
Letícia Maria de Araújo de Souza ◽  
Lúcia Pereira Barroso ◽  
Marcela Júlio César Gouvêa ◽  
Carlos Vinícius Dias de Almeida ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE To test whether the occupational conditions of professional truck drivers are associated with amphetamine use after demographic characteristics and ones regarding mental health and drug use are controlled for.METHODS Cross-sectional study, with a non-probabilistic sample of 684 male truck drivers, which was collected in three highways in Sao Paulo between years 2012 and 2013. Demographic and occupational information was collected, as well as data on drug use and mental health (sleep quality, emotional stress, and psychiatric disorders). A logistic regression model was developed to identify factors associated with amphetamine use. Odds ratio (OR; 95%CI) was defined as the measure for association. The significance level was established as p < 0.05.RESULTS The studied sample was found to have an average age of 36.7 (SD = 7.8) years, as well as low education (8.6 [SD = 2.3] years); 29.0% of drivers reported having used amphetamines within the twelve months prior to their interviews. After demographic and occupational variables had been controlled for, the factors which indicated amphetamine use among truck drivers were the following: being younger than 38 years (OR = 3.69), having spent less than nine years at school (OR = 1.76), being autonomous (OR = 1.65), working night shifts or irregular schedules (OR = 2.05), working over 12 hours daily (OR = 2.14), and drinking alcohol (OR = 1.74).CONCLUSIONS Occupational aspects are closely related to amphetamine use among truck drivers, which reinforces the importance of closely following the application of law (Resting Act (“Lei do Descanso”); Law 12,619/2012) which regulates the workload and hours of those professionals. Our results show the need for increased strictness on the trade and prescription of amphetamines in Brazil.


2020 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2097023
Author(s):  
Emily Long ◽  
Claudia Zucca ◽  
Helen Sweeting

The current study investigated peer relationship and school climate factors associated with adolescent mental health. Cross-sectional data from 2,571 fifteen-year old students in 22 Scottish secondary schools was used. Multilevel models tested for school differences in mental health, and nested linear regression models estimated peer and school effects. Results demonstrated no significant between-school variation in mental health. Peer victimization was the only peer effect associated with mental health. School-belonging, student-teacher relationships, and a perceived inclusive school climate were associated with better mental health, whereas a perceived school climate of exam pressure was associated with worse mental health. The findings highlight multiple aspects of school climate that could be targeted in school-based interventions for adolescent mental health.


Author(s):  
E. Tanaka ◽  
H. Iso ◽  
A. Tsutsumi ◽  
S. Kameoka ◽  
Y. You ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims We explored the factors promoting long-term mental health among adolescent survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. We examined the associations of their long-term mental health with disaster-related storytelling and school-based psychoeducation, and of school-based psychoeducation with disaster-related storytelling. Methods A secondary school-based cross-sectional survey was conducted 6 years after the disaster. Participants with traumatic experiences such as injury, loss, witnessing someone's death/injury and home destruction (N = 1028, mean age 15, standard deviation 1.38, male 51%) were eligible. Mental health/disaster education (MHE/DE) was defined as taking one or more lessons in MHE and/or DE at school since the earthquake. Experiences of storytelling about the disaster involved expressing distressing memories and feelings regarding the earthquake since the disaster happened, according to four groups: never expressed distressing memories and feelings, expressed them through writing/drawing, expressed them through talking to lay supporters and expressed them through talking to health professionals. Analysis of covariance was used to compare mean scores on five selected subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and the Psychotic-Like Experiences (PLEs) scale among the four storytelling groups. Linear regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between MHE/DE and current mental health as measured by the SCL-90, AIS and PLEs. The relationship between education and storytelling was probed by χ2 test. Results The talked-to-lay-supporters group showed better mental health on the SCL-90 (p ⩽ 0.001), AIS (p < 0.001) and PLEs (p = 0.004), while the consulted-health-professionals group showed worse mental health on the three dimensions of the SCL-90: depression (p = 0.05), anxiety (p = 0.02) and fear (p = 0.04), and on PLEs (p = 0.02) compared with the never-expressed group. MHE and DE were inversely associated with SCL-90, AIS and PLE scores. Participants who received these forms of education talked about their disaster experiences to lay supporters more than those who did not. Conclusions MHE and DE at school may promote adolescents’ mental health after a disaster. Experience of storytelling about the disaster to lay supporters may be helpful for long-term psychological recovery, and may be a potential mediating factor for school-based education and better mental health. Because of the cross-sectional nature of this study, causality cannot be inferred; therefore, further prospective intervention studies are needed to elucidate the effect of these factors on adolescent survivors’ mental health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suelen de Lima Bach ◽  
Mariane Lopez Molina ◽  
Paulinia Leal do Amaral ◽  
Amanda Neumann Reyes ◽  
Karen Jansen ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Mental health assessment in childhood needs to be carried out within a broader context that includes different factors. Objective To assess the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems in schoolchildren and associated factors. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted with a school-based sample at 20 schools selected by systematic random sampling. Participants consisted of children aged 7-8 year old and their parents or primary caregivers. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to screen for the presence of emotional and behavioral problems in children. Results A total of 596 dyads were evaluated. The prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems was 30.0% among boys and 28.2% among girls. Hyperactivity/inattention were more prevalent among boys (p=0.015). Belonging to economically disadvantaged strata increased the likelihood of emotional and behavioral problems among schoolchildren by 71% (p=0.001), while having parents or caregivers with mental disorder increased by 2.2 times that probability (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings showed a high prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among schoolchildren, as well as the influence of economic conditions and of the mental health of parents and caregivers on child mental health.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Wasif Gillani ◽  
Irfan Altaf Ansari ◽  
Hisham A. Zaghloul ◽  
Mohi Iqbal Mohammad Abdul ◽  
Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman ◽  
...  

Background. This study is aimed at investigating the various disease-specific and health-related psychosocial concepts of HRQOL among insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and understanding the gender differences in HRQOL among IDDM patients. Methods. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted to assess the effect of health-related and psychosocial correlates on HRQOL of IDDM patients in Penang, Malaysia. The participants were recruited from five governmental diabetic clinics. Patients with insulin use only, IDDM diagnosed at least 1 year earlier, were identified from clinical registers. The sample was then age stratified for 20–64 years, and severe complications (e.g., end-stage renal failure, hemodialysis, and liver cirrhosis) were excluded; a total of 1003 participants were enrolled in the study. Multivariate regression analysis was used to predict the response. Results. A total of 853 (100%) participants were enrolled and completed the study. Women exhibited significantly higher/better mental health (p<0.013) and health perception scores (p<0.001) despite high prevalence of impaired role (49.2%), social (24.2%), and physical (40.5%) functionings as compared to men. Women with longer diabetes exposure and uncontrolled glycemic levels (HbA1c) have poorer HRQOL. Availability of social support showed no significant association with either HRQOL or diabetes distress levels. Diabetes distress levels remained not associated with social support. Women also showed significantly higher association with health perception (15% versus 13% men, p<0.001) and mental health (13% versus 11% men, p<0.001) in diabetes-specific psychosocial factors. Thus, among women alone, diabetes-related specific and psychosocial factors explained 15% and 13% of variations in HRQOL extents, respectively. Conclusion. Women exhibit extensive and significant patterns with health-related factors and diabetes-specific psychosocial factors (self-efficacy, social support, and DLC) to improve HRQOL. Also, women have significantly high reported distress levels and low social functioning compared to men.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Dickson Okoree Mireku ◽  
Jacob Owusu Sarfo ◽  
Edward Wilson Ansah ◽  
Daniel Apaak ◽  
Comfort Armah

Introduction. Injuries are a major global health problem that affects teenagers in many countries. Though several studies have been done in many countries, little is known among adolescents in Mauritius. Therefore, our paper explored the prevalence and correlates of serious injuries among adolescents in Mauritius. Methods. We analysed the 2017 Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) data from Mauritius, using the Chi-square test and binomial logistic regression analysis with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval (CI). Results. The prevalence of serious injuries among adolescents in Mauritius stood at 39.0%. Also, the predictors of serious injuries included sex (AOR = 0.70, CI = 0.58–0.81), physical attack (AOR = 0.47, CI = 0.39–0.57), being bullied (AOR = 0.48, CI = 0.48–0.70), suicide ideation (AOR = 0.65, CI = 0.49–0.85), hunger (AOR = 0.65, CI = 0.48–0.86), truancy from school (AOR = 0.77, CI = 0.63–0.93), marijuana use (AOR = 0.54, CI = 0.39–0.76), alcohol consumption (AOR = 0.64, CI = 0.70–0.98), and parental neglect (AOR = 0.83, CI = 0.70–0.98). Conclusion. The rate of injury among adolescents in Mauritius is moderately high, with sex, suicidal thought, hunger, truancy, drug use, and parental neglect as correlates. There is an urgent need for health promotion interventions at family, community, and school levels to deal with this level of serious injuries and the factors influencing such occurrences among these adolescents in Mauritius.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. e5129108758
Author(s):  
Déborah Pimentel ◽  
Daniel Lima Figueiredo ◽  
Roberta Machado Pimentel Rebello de Mattos ◽  
Ikaro Daniel de Carvalho Barreto

Aim: To identify the profile of Brazilian doctors and the prevalence of mental suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, exploratory quantitative study, performed between April and May 2020, using a sociodemographic questionnaire and a specific tool for tracking non-psychotic mental disorders: the Self Report Questionnaire. Results: Participant profile: women (68.1%), between 31 and 40 years old (39.9%), married or with partners (59.9%), without children (53.3%), with up to five years of graduation (30.9%), and working in public service (40.7%). The doctors (49.79%) show strong signs of mental suffering, with impaired sleep, headache, and psychotropic drug use. Many of them feel easily tired and have difficulty in satisfactorily carrying out daily activities. Many are tense, nervous or worried (77.4%); feel sad and are crying more than usual. Among them, 34.8% are losing interest in things, 14.6% feel they are useless, and 4.3% have suicidal thoughts. Conclusions: Almost half of the Brazilian doctors (49.79%) show strong signs of mental suffering, with a level of tension, nervousness and worry that affects more than half of the professionals. Ongoing programs for the prevention of mental disorders and suicide during and after the COVID-19 pandemic are required.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lian Li ◽  
Yuanzhi Zhao ◽  
Meijun Shi ◽  
Yucheng Wang

Background: Preventing suicide among adolescents is an urgent global public-health challenge, especially in Africa. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the early initiation (&lt; 12 years old) of substance use (cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and drug use) and attempted suicide among in-school adolescents in seven African countries.Methods: Data on the early initiation of substance use and on attempted suicide among in-school adolescents over the previous 12 months in Benin, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, and the United Republic of Tanzania were collected from Global School-based Student Health Surveys and were pooled to determine the overall prevalence of these behaviors in adolescents. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were then performed to evaluate country-specific associations between the early initiation of substance use and attempted suicide in these adolescents, followed by meta-analyses to evaluate overall pooled associations.Results: In the abovementioned seven African low- or middle-income countries (LMICs), overall weighted prevalences of attempted suicide and early initiation of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and drug use among in-school adolescents were 16.05, 7.76, 17.68, and 3.48%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that relative to non-smoking, the early initiation of smoking was significantly associated with attempted suicide in these adolescents [OR (95% CI) = 1.783 (1.219–2.348)]. Additionally, the relationship between early initiation of cigarette smoking and attempted suicide is mostly driven by a higher association in girls [OR (95% CI) = 1.867 (1.031–2.703)] than boys [OR (95% CI) = 1.392 (0.995−1.789)]. Moreover, relative to not using other drugs, the early and later initiation of other drug use were also significantly associated with attempted suicide in these adolescents [ORs (95% CIs) = 2.455 (1.701–3.208) and 1.548 (1.198–1.898)].Conclusion: Programs that can eliminate or decrease the early initiation of substance use among adolescents should be implemented in African LMICs to prevent subsequent suicide attempts, especially among adolescent girls.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamanna Neupane ◽  
Achyut Raj Pandey ◽  
Bihungum Bista ◽  
Binaya Chalise

Abstract Background : Bullying is an emerging risk factor for poor mental health outcomes adversely affecting children and adolescents. However, it has rarely caught the attention of the health and education sector due to lack of evidence in many countries including Nepal. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with bullying behavior among adolescent students in Nepal.Methods : We used nationally representative data from the Nepal Global School-Based Student Health Survey that involved two-stage cluster sampling design with the use of a standard set of self-administered questionnaires. Complex sample analysis was done to determine the prevalence and correlates of bullying among 6529 students of 68 schools studying in grade 7 to 11 using descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression.Results : The overall prevalence of bullying among Nepalese school adolescents was 51% (55.7% in male and 46.1% in female). Bullied adolescents more commonly reported mental health problems with higher risk of loneliness (aOR 1.39, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.69), anxiety (aOR 1.97, 95% CI: 1.57, 2.47), suicide attempt (aOR 1.99, 95% CI: 1.48, 2.67), school absenteeism due to fear (aOR 1.72, 95% CI: 1.36, 2.19) and school truancy (aOR 1.43, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.79). A significant association was seen between bullying victimization and negative health behaviors like involvement in physical fights (aOR 3.70, 95% CI: 3.00, 4.56) and tobacco use (aOR 1.99, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.61).Conclusion: School bullying is significantly associated with mental health factors like loneliness, anxiety, suicide attempt, school absenteeism and risky behavioral factors like smokeless tobacco use and involvement in physical fight. The insights provided by these findings have important implications for planning anti-bullying strategies in school settings in the Nepalese context.


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