scholarly journals Sex ratios at birth in Australia according to mother’s country of birth: A national study of all 5 614 847 reported live births 1997–2016

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0251588
Author(s):  
Kristina Edvardsson ◽  
Mary-Ann Davey ◽  
Rhonda Powell ◽  
Anna Axmon

Objectives Son preference and sex selective practices have resulted in a deficit of girls in several countries, primarily across Asia. Emerging evidence indicates that son preference survives migration to Western high-income countries. The objective of this study was to assess male-to-female (M/F) ratios at birth per mother’s country of birth in Australia 1997–2016, in total and by parity, and by states/territories and over time. Methods Data for this national population-based cross-sectional study were obtained from the National Perinatal Data Collection (NPDC) and included all live births in Australia 1997–2016 (N = 5 614 847). M/F ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals were estimated. Results The M/F ratio for births to Australian-born mothers was within the expected range (1.03–1.07) regardless of parity and time period. M/F ratios were elevated above the expected range for births to mothers born in China in the total sample (M/F ratio 1.084, 95% confidence interval 1.071–1.097) and at parity 2 (1.175, 1.120–1.231), and for births to mothers born in India at parity 2 (1.146, 1.090–1.204). Parity 2 births were the most consistently male-biased across time. Across states, elevated M/F ratios were identified for both groups in New South Wales (China parity 2: 1.182, 1.108–1.260; India parity 2: 1.182, 1.088–1.285), for births to Chinese-born mothers in Victoria (total births: 1.097, 1.072–1.123; parity 1: 1.115, 1.072–1.159) and Australian Capital Territory (total births: 1.189, 1.085–1.302) and births to Indian-born mothers Western Australia (parity 2: 1.307, 1.122–1.523). Conclusions Son preference persists in some immigrant communities after migration to Australia. The consistent pattern of elevated M/F ratios across the larger states indicates that sex imbalances at birth are largely independent of restrictiveness of local abortion laws. Drivers and consequences of son preference in Western high-income settings should be explored to further promote gender equality, and to strengthen support for women who may be vulnerable to reproductive coercion.

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e048554
Author(s):  
Hanyu Wang ◽  
Eric Frasco ◽  
Jie Shang ◽  
Minne Chen ◽  
Tong Xin ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThis study aims to explore the association between maternal depression and the loss of the only child under the family-planning (FP) policy.DesignCross-sectional data from a Chinese population-based study were analysed.SettingPopulation from 10 (5 rural and 5 urban) areas in China.ParticipantsAround 300 000 females were included in the study. The FP group was defined as women with one or two live births. Those with no surviving child were classified into the loss-of-only-child group. The non-FP group included women who had more than two live births. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between major depressive disorder (MDD) and family types, after stratification and adjustment.OutcomeMDD was assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Inventory.ResultsThe odds of MDD are 1.42 times higher in the FP group in general (OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.57), as opposed to the non-FP group. In particular, the odds of MDD are 1.36 times greater in the non-loss-of-only-child group (OR=1.36, 95% CI: 1.21 to 1.51) and 2.80 (OR=2.80, 95% CI: 0.88 to 8.94) times greater in the loss-of-only-child group, compared with the non-FP group. The associations between FP groups and MDD appeared to be stronger in the elderly population, in those who were married, less educated and those with a higher household income. The association was found progressively stronger in those who lost their only child.ConclusionsPeople in the FP group, especially those who lost their only child, are more susceptible to MDD than their counterparts in the non-FP group. Mental health programmes should give special care to those who lost their only child and take existing social policies and norms, such as FP policies, into consideration.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e023916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Li ◽  
Shoumeng Yan ◽  
Shan Jiang ◽  
Xiaoyu Ma ◽  
Tianyu Gao ◽  
...  

ObjectivesPrevious studies have reported that sleep duration might increase the risk of hypertension. However, the results have been conflicting. We investigated whether sleep duration is independently associated with hypertension. We aimed to assess the relationship between sleep duration and hypertension in a population-based cross-sectional study.MethodsIn this study we used multistage stratified cluster sampling. A total of 19 407 adults aged 18–79 years were enrolled in the study. The participants were divided into three groups (<7 hours/day, 7–8 hours/day and >8 hours/day) according to self-reported sleep duration. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg or the use of anti-hypertensive medications. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine the association between hypertension and sleep duration adjusted for sociodemographic, body mass index, and lifestyle covariates.ResultsThe overall prevalence of hypertension was 32.6%. Among participants aged 18–44 years, individuals sleeping less than 7 hours per day had a higher risk of hypertension (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.46), compared with those who slept 7–8 hours per day. There were no significant associations between sleep duration and hypertension in the total sample, among middle-aged adults (45–59 years) or older adults (60–79 years).ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that short sleep duration was significantly associated with hypertension among people aged 18–44 years in northeast China.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e055181
Author(s):  
Majid Alabdulla ◽  
Shuja Reagu ◽  
Nahid M Elhassan ◽  
Dhanya Shinith ◽  
Saba T Shiekh ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThis study attempts the first in a series of investigations into the misuse of alcohol and substances in Qatar. This study explores the emergency presentations of alcohol and substance abuse to all the state funded emergency departments (EDs) in the country which serve around 90% of the population over a 22-month period. Due to legal penalties for alcohol and substance use, and lack of subsidised community-based facilities, ED presentations are a good starting point to explore this burden.Design and participantsA retrospective population-based, cross-sectional study, analysing electronic patient records of all state funded EDs spanning a period of 22 months, from 1 January 2019 to 31 October 2020 was carried out. The study included all eligible individuals aged 18 or over. Primary reason/diagnosis for presentation containing any of the alcohol or substance use key words were included in the study using composite data capture forms by trained clinicians.ResultsAn overwhelming majority (95.5%) of the total 1495 cases presenting to the EDs with substance abuse were using alcohol. Only 2.1% of the cases were females. Those of Asian (non-Arab) constituted 70% of this group. Qatari citizens presented with highest proportion of substance abuse other than alcohol (23%). Overall, 2.26% of all presentations to the EDs were related to alcohol and substance abuse and this amounted to 3 ED visits per 10 000 of population per year. 56.6% of the cases presented over the weekend. Less than 1% were referred to psychiatry and no other meaningful rehabilitative interventions were offered to others.ConclusionAs Qatar moves towards establishing community-based rehabilitative resources for alcohol and substances abuse, the findings from this study will help in shaping these developments. These can include ED-based routine screening for alcohol abuse and referral to rehabilitation services without fear of legal penalties.


2018 ◽  
Vol 215 (6) ◽  
pp. 736-743
Author(s):  
Hilary K. Brown ◽  
Cindy-Lee Dennis ◽  
Paul Kurdyak ◽  
Simone N. Vigod

BackgroundInduced abortion is an indicator of access to, and quality of reproductive healthcare, but rates are relatively unknown in women with schizophrenia.AimsWe examined whether women with schizophrenia experience increased induced abortion compared with those without schizophrenia, and identified factors associated with induced abortion risk.MethodIn a population-based, repeated cross-sectional study (2011–2013), we compared women with and without schizophrenia in Ontario, Canada on rates of induced abortions per 1000 women and per 1000 live births. We then followed a longitudinal cohort of women with schizophrenia aged 15–44 years (n = 11 149) from 2011, using modified Poisson regression to identify risk factors for induced abortion.ResultsWomen with schizophrenia had higher abortion rates than those without schizophrenia in all years (15.5–17.5 v. 12.8–13.6 per 1000 women; largest rate ratio, 1.33; 95% CI 1.16–1.54). They also had higher abortion ratios (592–736 v. 321–341 per 1000 live births; largest rate ratio, 2.25; 95% CI 1.96–2.59). Younger age (<25 years; adjusted relative risk (aRR), 1.84; 95% CI 1.39–2.44), multiparity (aRR 2.17, 95% CI 1.66–2.83), comorbid non-psychotic mental illness (aRR 2.15, 95% CI 1.34–3.46) and substance misuse disorders (aRR 1.85, 95% CI 1.47–2.34) were associated with increased abortion risk.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate vulnerability related to reproductive healthcare for women with schizophrenia. Evidence-based interventions to support optimal sexual health, particularly in young women, those with psychiatric and addiction comorbidity, and women who have already had a child, are warranted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1232-1235
Author(s):  
Annie Susan Thomas ◽  
◽  
Ariel Hannah Philip ◽  
Philip Oommen ◽  
Aby Mathew T ◽  
...  

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of TMD in Central Keralite population. Materials and Methods: A representative population-based sample of 368 people was randomly selected of which 152 were men and 216 were females. A cross sectional study was conducted in both males and females aged 18-65 years. TMD prevalence was assessed by self- reported questionnaire. The diagnosis of TMD was based on Research Diagnosis Criteria for TMD (RDC-TMD) Axis1. Results: Of the total sample size selected, 51.35% had TMD. Of this, 53.2% of the females and 48.6% of the males were diagnosed to have TMD. TMD patients were categorised according to RDC TMD Criteria. In Category I (Myofascial pain dysfunction) - 47%, Category II (Internal derangement) - 51% and in Category III (Inflammatory Joint Disorder) - 2% Conclusion: The present study indicates that more than half of the general population in Central Kerala is affected by TMD. Proper awareness of this disorder and possible treatment options should be well informed to the general population.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Dong ◽  
Roger Yat-Nork Chung ◽  
Rufina H. W. Chan ◽  
Shiwei Gong ◽  
Richard Huan Xu

Abstract Background For patients with rare diseases (RD), misdiagnosis (or erroneous diagnosis) is one of the key issues that hinder RD patients’ accessibility to timely treatment. Yet, little is known about the main factors that are associated with RD patients’ misdiagnosis. The objective of this study is to analyze data from a national survey among 2040 RD patients from China to explore the association between misdiagnosis and various factors, including patients’ demographics, socio-economic status, medical history, and their accessibility to RD information. Results Three binary logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationships between misdiagnosis and level of rarity of the RDs (mild, moderate, and severe), demographics, health insurance levels, and accessibility to disease-related information by using the total sample, and the adult and non-adult sub-samples. We found that accessibility to RD information is the most critical factor influencing the patients’ chances of being misdiagnosed (odds ratio [OR] = 4.459, p < 0.001). In other words, the greater the difficulty in accessing the information on RD management, the higher the possibility of experiencing misdiagnosis. Such influences of information accessibility on misdiagnosis were repeatedly discovered when examining the adult (OR = 3.732, p < 0.001) and the non-adult (OR = 5.174, p < 0.001) sub-samples. The association between perceived economic status and misdiagnosis was only significant in the total sample. The only other factor significantly associated with misdiagnosis was disease multimorbidity: participants who reported no multimorbidity are less likely to experience misdiagnosis (OR = 0.42, p < 0.001). Conclusions Our study indicated that patients with RDs who have difficulty in accessing disease-related information are two to five times more likely to have experienced misdiagnosis. Even after adjusting for the patients’ age, gender, economic levels, and education levels, the impact of information accessibility was still significant. Our finding highlights the importance of access to information in reducing misdiagnosis among RD patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Gomez ◽  
Jairo Corchuelo ◽  
Carmen-Lucia Curcio ◽  
Maria-Teresa Calzada ◽  
Fabian Mendez

Objective. To describe the design of the SABE Colombia study. The major health study of the old people in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is the Survey on Health, Well-Being, and Aging in LAC, SABE (from initials in Spanish: SAlud, Bienestar & Envejecimiento). Methods. The SABE Colombia is a population-based cross-sectional study on health, aging, and well-being of elderly individuals aged at least 60 years focusing attention on social determinants of health inequities. Methods and design were similar to original LAC SABE. The total sample size of the study at the urban and rural research sites (244 municipalities) was 23.694 elderly Colombians representative of the total population. The study had three components: (1) a questionnaire covering active aging determinants including anthropometry, blood pressure measurement, physical function, and biochemical and hematological measures; (2) a subsample survey among family caregivers; (3) a qualitative study with gender and cultural perspectives of quality of life to understand different dimensions of people meanings. Conclusions. The SABE Colombia is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary study of the elderly with respect to active aging determinants. The results of this study are intended to inform public policies aimed at tackling health inequalities for the aging society in Colombia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (16) ◽  
pp. 2973-2982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binyan Zhang ◽  
Suhang Shang ◽  
Shanshan Li ◽  
Baibing Mi ◽  
Minmin Li ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:To investigate the association of folic acid (FA) supplementation with birth weight, the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) and low birth weight (LBW) in singleton and twin pregnancy.Design:A population-based cross-sectional survey.Setting:Twenty counties and ten districts in Shaanxi Province of northwestern China, 2013.Participants:28 174 pregnant women with their infants, covering 27 818 single live births and 356 twin live births.Results:The prevalence of FA supplementation in singletons and twins was 63·9 and 66·3 %. The mean birth weight was 3267 (sd 459·1) g, 2525 (sd 534·0) g and 2494 (sd 539·5) g; the prevalence of SGA was 14·3, 51·4 and 53·4 %; the prevalence of LBW was 3·4, 42·4 and 46·6 % among singleton, twin A and twin B, respectively. Compared with non-users, women with FA supplementation were (β 17·3, 95 % CI 6·1, 28·4; β 166·3, 95 % CI 69·1, 263·5) associated with increased birth weight, lower risk of SGA (OR 0·85, 95 % CI 0·80, 0·92; OR 0·45, 95 % CI 0·30, 0·68) and LBW (OR 0·82, 95 % CI 0·71, 0·95; OR 0·50, 95 % CI 0·33, 0·75) in singletons and twins, and more prominent effects in twins. Moreover, there were significant interactions between FA supplementation and plurality on birth weight, SGA and LBW.Conclusions:The present study suggests the association of periconceptional 0·4 mg/d FA supplementation with increased birth weight and reduced risk of SGA and LBW in both singletons and twins, and this association may be more prominent in twins.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Dong ◽  
Roger Yat-Nork Chung ◽  
Rufina H.W. Chan ◽  
Shiwei Gong ◽  
Richard Huan Xu

Abstract BackgroundFor patients with rare diseases (RD), misdiagnosis (or erroneous diagnosis) is one of the key issues that hinder RD patients’ accessibility to timely treatment. Yet, little is known about the main factors that are associated with RD patients’ misdiagnosis. The objective of this study is to analyze data from a national survey among 2,040 RD patients from China to explore the association between misdiagnosis and various factors, including patients’ demographics, socio-economic status, medical history, and their accessibility to RD information.ResultsThree binary logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationships between misdiagnosis and level of rarity of the RDs (mild, moderate, and severe), demographics, health insurance levels, and accessibility to disease-related information by using the total sample, and the adult and non-adult sub-samples. We found that accessibility to RD information is the most critical factor influencing the patients’ chances of being misdiagnosed (odds ratio [OR] =4.459, p<0.001). In other words, the greater the difficulty in accessing the information on RD management, the higher the possibility of experiencing misdiagnosis.Such influences of information accessibility on misdiagnosis were repeatedly discovered when examining the adult (OR=3.732, p<0.001) and the non-adult (OR=5.174, p<0.001) sub-samples. The association between perceived economic status and misdiagnosis was only significant in the total sample. The only other factor significantly associated with misdiagnosis was disease multimorbidity: participants who reported no multimorbidity are less likely to experience misdiagnosis (OR=0.42, p<0.001).ConclusionsOur study indicated that patients with RDs who have difficulty in accessing disease-related information are two to five times more likely to have experienced misdiagnosis. Even after adjusting for the patients’ age, gender, economic levels, and education levels, the impact of information accessibility was still significant. Our finding highlights the importance of access to information in reducing misdiagnosis among RD patients.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Dong ◽  
Roger Yat-Nork Chung ◽  
Rufina Chan ◽  
Shiwei Gong ◽  
Huan Xu

Abstract Background For patients with rare diseases (RD), misdiagnosis has been regarded as one of the key issues that hinder RD patients’ accessibility to timely treatment. Yet, less is known about the main factors associated with RD patients’ misdiagnosis. The objective of this study is to use the data from a national survey among 2,040 RD patients from China to explore the association between misdiagnosis and other factors, including patients’ demographics, socio-economic characteristics, medical history, and their accessibility to RD information.Results Three binary logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the relationships between misdiagnosis and level of rarity of the RDs (mild, moderate and severe), demographics, health insurance levels and accessibility to disease-related information by using the total sample, and the adult and minor sub-samples.It is found that accessibility to RD information is the most critical factor influencing the patients’ chances of being misdiagnosed. In other words, the greater the difficulty in accessing information on RD management, the higher the possibility of experiencing misdiagnosis.Such influences from information accessibility to misdiagnosis were repeatedly discovered when exploring the adult and the minor sub-samples. The association between perceived economic status and misdiagnosis only occurs in the total sample. The only other factor significantly associated misdiagnosis was disease complication: participants who reported no complications are less likely to experience misdiagnosis.Conclusions Our study indicated that patients with RDs who have difficulty in accessing disease-related information have nearly two to five times higher chances of being misdiagnosed. Even after considering the patients’ age, gender, economic levels and education levels, the impact of information accessibility still stands out. Our finding highlights the fact that accessibility to information is the key to reducing misdiagnosis among RD patients.


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