scholarly journals The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown on Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Neck Pain Among College Students: a Cross-sectional Study

Author(s):  
Amira Daher ◽  
Ofra Halperin

Abstract Background: Neck pain (NP), one of the most reported musculoskeletal disorders, is a major cause of illness and absence from university lessons among students. The COVID-19 pandemic affected higher education institutions worldwide. Academic studies shifted to online-learning, changing students’ habits and lifestyle. Data demonstrated that the pandemic and consequent lockdowns can affect people’s physical and mental well-being. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on the prevalence of and risk factors of NP among college students compared to the pre-epidemic period. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the form of an online questionnaire survey that included sociodemographic data, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). NP was reported at four time points—lifetime, last year, last six months, and current—on a scale ranging from never/seldom to almost every day. Logistic regression models were calculated for all study variables and compared to the (NDI) cut-off score of 15. Results: A total of 295 college students were recruited. Among them, 35.6% reported at least moderate neck-related disability (NDI≥15) and significantly more NP than before the lockdown. NP increased gradually and significantly (on a scale 1-4), from a lifetime mean of 1.80 to a mean of 2.57 last year to 2.73 during the past six months to the current mean of 3.07 (p< .001). Participants’ scores on the PSS were moderate, with 59.3% reporting a high level of study-related stress. Logistic regression models revealed that sitting more than three hours a day, high study-related stress and higher PSS and VAS scores were associated with higher risk of at least a moderate level of neck-related disability (R2=.513, p< .001). Conclusions: The transition from on-campus studies to online learning had negative effects on students. It significantly increased study-related stress and the development of NP. Identifying risk factors at an early stage may prevent NP from becoming chronic and affecting students’ future careers, thereby improving students’ quality of life.

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2163 ◽  
Author(s):  
José María Rico-Gomis ◽  
Antonio Palazón-Bru ◽  
Irene Triano-García ◽  
Luis Fabián Mahecha-García ◽  
Ana García-Monsalve ◽  
...  

Few studies have assessed the association between the rs1414334 C/G polymorphism in the HTR2C gene and the development of the metabolic syndrome in patients treated with atypical antipsychotics. To provide further evidence, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain between 2012 and 2013 in 166 patients with these characteristics. In these patients, the association between the polymorphism and the presence of the metabolic syndrome was determined by implementing binary logistic regression models adjusted for variables associated with the metabolic syndrome. We did not confirm previous claims that the C allele of the polymorphism was linked to the metabolic syndrome: the association was in the opposite direction and non-significant. This conclusion held after taking gender and lifestyle variables into account.


Author(s):  
Esther O. Chung ◽  
Brian Mattah ◽  
Matthew D. Hickey ◽  
Charles R. Salmen ◽  
Erin M. Milner ◽  
...  

Background: Pica, the craving and purposeful consumption of nonfoods, is poorly understood. We described the prevalence of pica among women on Mfangano Island, Kenya, and examined sociodemographic and health correlates. Methods: Our cross-sectional study included 299 pregnant or postpartum women in 2012. We used a 24-h recall to assess pica, defined as consumption of earth (geophagy), charcoal/ash, or raw starches (amylophagy) and built multivariable logistic regression models to examine sociodemographic and health correlates of pica. Results: Eighty-one women (27.1%) engaged in pica in the previous 24 h, with 59.3% reporting amylophagy and 56.8% reporting geophagy, charcoal, and/or ash consumption. The most common substances consumed were raw cassava (n = 30, 36.6%), odowa, a chalky, soft rock-like earth (n = 21, 25.6%), and soil (n = 17, 20.7%). Geophagy, charcoal, and/or ash consumption was negatively associated with breastfeeding (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.18–0.81), and amylophagy was associated with pregnancy (OR = 4.31, 95% CI: 1.24–14.96). Pica was more common within one of six study regions (OR = 3.64, 95% CI: 1.39–9.51). We found no evidence of an association between food insecurity and pica. Conclusion: Pica was a common behavior among women, and the prevalence underscores the need to uncover its dietary, environmental, and cultural etiologies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1036-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guiping Hu ◽  
Yi Bai ◽  
Tian Chen ◽  
Shichuan Tang ◽  
Lihua Hu

Background: Serum uric acid (SUA) has been associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in observational studies; however, data in women without hypertension and diabetes are sparse. Purpose: To examine the association between SUA and CKD among women without hypertension and diabetes. Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 6,776 US women without hypertension and diabetes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2006), we investigated the relationship between SUA and CKD using multivariable logistic regression models. Moreover, a generalized additive model and smooth curve fitting (penalized spline method) and a 2 piecewise logistic regression models were conducted to address for nonlinearity. Results: The prevalence of CKD was 8.3%. Multiple logistic analyses showed that per 1 mg/dL increase in SUA was associated with 39% increased prevalence of CKD. Analyses using restricted cubic spline confirmed that the association between SUA and CKD was nonlinear. Further, threshold and saturation effect analysis showed that the inflection point of SUA was 4.5 mg/dL. The ORs (95% CIs) were 0.84 (0.66–1.08) on the left side of inflection point and 1.87 (1.56–2.24) on the right side of inflection point, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that the stronger association between SUA and CKD was observed in elder women with never/former smoking and higher fasting blood glucose levels (all p values for interaction <0.05). Conclusion: Our study suggested threshold effects of SUA on the prevalence of CKD among US women without hypertension and diabetes. SUA levels >4.5 mg/dL were positively and independently associated with CKD.


Author(s):  
Leila Hassannia ◽  
Fatemeh Taghizadeh ◽  
Mahmood Moosazadeh ◽  
Mehran Zarghami ◽  
Hassan Taghizadeh ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe COVID-19 outbreak has exerted a great deal of psychological pressure on Iranian health workers and the general population. In the present study, the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms along with the related variables in this epidemic were investigated.MethodAn online cross-sectional study was conducted for the general public and healthcare workers in IRAN using a questionnaire comprised of demographic questions and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Chi square test was used to compare categorical variables, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were conducted.ResultsOf the 2045 participants,1136 (65.6%) were considered to have moderate and severe anxiety symptoms, and 865(42.3%) had moderate and severe depression symptoms. Based on the logistic regression models, the prevalence of anxiety was higher in the females than in the males (OR=1.4, 95% CI: 1.123-1.643, P=.002); the prevalence of anxiety was significantly higher in those aged 30-39 years than in other age groups (OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.123-2.320, P=0.001); furthermore, the prevalence of anxiety and depression was significantly higher in doctors and nurses compared with other occupations (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.367-2.491, P< 0.001) and(OR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.154-2.021, P=0.003). In addition, the prevalence of anxiety symptoms in the likely-infected COVID-19 group was higher than in the noninfected COVID-19 group (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.093-1.654, P=0.005).ConclusionsRegarding the high prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms, especially among health care workers, appropriate psychological/psychiatric intervention necessitates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Ran ◽  
Qi Chen ◽  
Jingyi Zhang ◽  
Xinlong Tu ◽  
Xiaodong Tan ◽  
...  

AbstractHypertension (HTN) and osteoarthritis (OA) are frequent in middle-aged and elderly people, and the co-occurrence of these two diseases is common. However, the pathogenesis of the multimorbidity of both diseases and the relation with sleep quality, hyperlipemia, and hyperglycemia is unclear. We conducted a cross-sectional study to make sense of the multimorbidity of HTN and OA and the relation with sleep quality, hyperlipemia, and hyperglycemia. The relation between sleep quality and OA and its joint effect with hyperlipemia or hyperglycemia was evaluated with logistic regression models. The additive interaction was assessed with the relative excess risk due to interaction (REEI), the attributable proportion (AP), and the synergy index (S). According to this research in a remote rural area, approximately 34.2% of HTN patients are accompanied with OA and 49.1% are suffering poor sleep. Both hyperlipemia/hyperglycemia and sleep quality were related to OA prevalence with crude ORs of 1.43 (95% CI 1.014–2.029) and 1.89 (95% CI 1.411–2.519, P < 0.001) respectively. An observed additive effect was found greater than the sum of the effects of sleep quality and hyperlipemia/hyperglycemia posed on OA prevalence alone. This additive interaction was observed in females (OR = 3.19, 95% CI 1.945–5.237) as well as males ≥ 65 years old (OR = 2.78, 95% CI 1.693–4.557), with RERI, AP, and S significant. Therefore, poor sleep and hyperlipemia/hyperglycemia are associated with OA, and further studies on the additive interaction among females and males ≥ 65 are warranted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Karazurna ◽  
Caitlin Porter ◽  
Jesse Stabile Morrell ◽  
Sherman Bigornia

Abstract Objectives Evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid (n-3 FA) and fish consumption may reduce the risk of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in older adults. We previously reported that MetS components are prevalent among college students. Identifying modifiable risk factors of developing MetS and its components in young adults will inform potential targets to reduce the risk of age-related health conditions. Our objectives were to measure the cross-sectional impacts of n-3 FA and fish consumption on ≥2 or ≥3 MetS criteria and individual criteria among college students. Methods The College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey is an on-going cross-sectional study at a public New England college. We examined data from Jan 2008 – May 2017. After excluding those with missing data our final sample size was n = 4271 for n-3 FA & n = 2072 for fish intake analyses. Diet was assessed by a 3 day food record; MetS criteria were collected in fasted state. We expressed n-3 FAs as g/1000 kcals/d. Servings of fish/week was obtained via an online survey. Individuals were categorized as consuming ≥ 2 servings/week or not. MetS was defined as meeting ≥ 3 criteria: elevated glucose, triglycerides, blood pressure, waist circumference, and low HDL. Analyses were conducted by logistic regression. Results The average n-3 FA intake was 0.4 g/1000 kcal/d ± 0.25 & 40% consumed ≥ 2 servings of fish/week. Prevalence estimates for meeting ≥ 2 criteria was 18.8% and 4.8% for MetS. In sex- and energy- adjusted models, n-3 FA consumption was inversely associated with MetS (OR = 0.38; 95%CI: 0.20, 0.71) and ≥2 MetS criteria (OR = 0.67; 95%CI: 0.49, 0.91). Associations were no longer significant after considering additional confounders. Fish consumption was not significantly associated with MetS or ≥2 criteria in any model. Further n-3 FAs and fish consumption was not associated with any individual MetS criteria. Conclusions In this cross-sectional study among college students, n-3 FA and fish consumption were not significantly associated with MetS outcomes. Further research is needed in this population using longitudinal study designs to understand long-term impact of n-3 consumption on the development of MetS and associated cardio metabolic risk factors in young adults. Funding Sources New Hampshire Agriculture Experiment Station and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project 1010738.


Author(s):  
Rawia A. Abdelshafie ◽  
Abdalla I. Abdalla Mohamed

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the current conditions of children of the selected area, for the purpose of measuring the new effective health program for schistosomiasis disease eliminations and obtain the prevalence intensity and risk factors of S. haematobium among school children in the study area.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to screen school going children of all the ages from five randomly selected schools from Alsuki region. A statistical analysis derived from data formulated based on 1062 samples aged between 6 and 15 years attending the selected schools during the period testing within 6 months were enrolled.Results: The impact of health awareness program was measured usefully and the responded factor for reducing the Schistosomiasis diseases was significantly became less than (0.05). Therefore, the actual qualified fitting degree and applicability was significantly becoming (p value=0.001).Conclusions: This research concluded that the prediction of Schistosomiasis diseases due to the risk Ratio of the collected data for those who did not attended awareness over the people who attended program became (0.248).


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zifeng Liu ◽  
Xiaoting Su ◽  
Mianli Xiao ◽  
Peien Zhou ◽  
Jianwei Guo ◽  
...  

Hyperuricemia (HU) is a risk factor for different kinds of chronic noncommunicable diseases, and eating away from home (EAFH) may play an important role in their development, which has been ignored greatly so far. This study aimed to investigate the association between EAFH and HU in different models. A cross-sectional study involving 8,322 participants of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) was conducted. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. We found that participants who consumed more away-from-home food had a higher risk for HU, and the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) (for each increment in grades of EAFH) were 1.11 (1.02, 1.20) in a multiadjusted model (adjusted for age, gender, province, net individual income, body mass index, smoking, leisure-time physical activities, energy intake, and sleep duration). As for stratified analyses, the aOR (95% CI) of EAFH was 1.12 (1.01, 1.24) for men and 1.06 (0.92, 1.21) for women. Similar results can be found in the middle-aged and obese population, with aOR (95% CI) of EAFH as 1.17 (1.05, 1.30) and 1.15 (1.03, 1.29), respectively. In conclusion, EAFH is positively associated with the prevalence of HU.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 181-181
Author(s):  
Aseel El Zein ◽  
Karla Shelnutt ◽  
Sarah Colby ◽  
Geoffrey Greene ◽  
Wenjun Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to assess the association between food insecurity and obesity and to examine whether it varies by sex. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in spring 2017 among college students from eight U.S. institutions. Participants (n = 683) completed the USDA Adult Food Security Survey and had their weight and height measured by researchers. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the sex-specific associations between food insecurity and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), after adjusting for socioeconomic covariates. Results Overall, 25.4% of students identified as food insecure and 10.5% were obese. The prevalence of obesity increased as the level of food insecurity increased, from 5.2% for those with high food security, 13.4% for those with marginal food security, to 17.4% and 21.6% for students with low and very low food security. In logistic regression analysis, marginal, low and very low food security students had an odds ratio of 2.83 (95% CI: 1.43, 5.57), 3.86 (95% CI: 1.88, 7.91), and 5.05 (95% CI:, 2.44, 10.48) of obesity compared to students with high food security, exhibiting a dose-response relationship. Among females, having marginal (OR = 4.21, 95% CI: 1.70, 9.75), low (OR = 4.51, 95% CI: 1.40, 12.47), or very low food security (OR = 7.08, 95% CI: 2.60, 18.41) predicted higher odds of obesity compared to female students with high food security. Among males, those with low food security had higher odds of obesity (OR = 6.40, 95% CI: 1.78, 20.7). Conclusions The association between food insecurity and obesity in U.S. college students remained after adjustment for multiple socio-economic factors. Overall, food insecure females experienced an increase in the risk of obesity as food insecurity increased; however, only males with low food security had an increased risk of obesity. Programs directed toward obesity prevention need to address any level of food insecurity as a risk factor in females, and target males with low food security. Although beyond the scope of this study, it is possible that programs to reduce food insecurity may help prevent obesity in college students. Funding Sources This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2014–67,001-21,851.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Huiwu Han ◽  
Fan Zheng ◽  
Weiwei Dai ◽  
Hua Peng ◽  
Shi Zhou ◽  
...  

Objectives. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is now becoming a serious public health threat. Some behaviors risk factors were considered to be associated with MetS and interacted to adversely affect MetS. However, the clustering effects of behavior risk factors of MetS among Chinese population remain unclear. The aim of this study is to observe the behavior risk factors and their clustering effects of MetS in China. Methods. A cross-sectional study design was used. Subjects were recruited in the departments of Cardiology Clinic, Endocrine Clinic, and Health Management from March to December 2019. A demographic sheet was designed to collect the demographic and clinical characteristics of the subjects. International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short was applied to evaluate the level of PA in this study. Other behavior risk factors were observed by the questionnaire. The stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the determinants of MetS. The multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the clustering effects of behavior risk factors in MetS. Results. There are a total of 532 eligible subjects (56.6% females; mean age was 48.4±15.3 years), and approximately 33.3% were diagnosed as MetS. The subjects with a smoking habit (heavy and long-time history) had a 1.833-fold higher risk for MetS than their counterparts (none and light smoking), and the subjects that preferred salty taste had a 1.626-fold higher risk for MetS than the comparison cohort. Smoking and alcohol drinking had the highest clustering effect on MetS among the behavior risk factors. Conclusions. The main finding of this study was that smoking and salty taste preference were the independent determinants of MetS. Smoking and alcohol consumption had the highest clustering effect on southern Chinese MetS.


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