Using Public Datasets to Understand the Psychological Correlates of Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Obesity: A Country-Level Analysis

In the present research, we investigate whether cultural value orientations (CVOs) and aggregate personality traits (Big-5) predict actual levels of alcohol consumption, smoking, and obesity across 50 countries using averages derived from millions of data points. Aggregate traits explained variance above and beyond CVOs in obesity (particularly neuroticism and extraversion), while CVOs explained variance beyond aggregate traits in alcohol consumption (particularly harmony and hierarchy). Smoking was not linked to aggregated traits or CVOs. We conclude that an understanding of the cultural correlates of risky health behaviors may help inform important policies and interventions for meeting international sustainable development goals.

Group Prenatal Care and Emergency Room Utilization

Pregnancy-related complaints are a significant driver of emergency room (ER) utilization among women. Because of additional time for patient education and provider relationships, group prenatal care may reduce ER visits among pregnant women by helping them identify appropriate care settings, improving understanding of common pregnancy discomforts, and reducing risky health behaviors. We conducted a retrospective cohort study, utilizing Medicaid claims and birth certificate data from a statewide expansion of group care, to compare ER utilization between pregnant women participating in group prenatal care and individual prenatal care. Using propensity score matching methods, we found that group care was associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of having any ER utilization (–5.9% among women receiving any group care and –6.0% among women attending at least five group care sessions). These findings suggest that group care may reduce ER utilization among pregnant women and encourage appropriate health care utilization during pregnancy.

Intergenerational Transmission of Parental Risky Health Behaviors in Chinese Children: Are There Socioeconomic Differences?

Background: Risky health behaviors in childhood, including smoking, drinking alcohol, and poor diet, are major sources of non-communicable diseases in adulthood. This study was intended to examine how parents affect children’s risky health behaviors, and whether intergenerational transmission differed by Socioeconomic Status (SES). Methods: Data were extracted from the 1991-2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Smoking (n=5946), alcohol drinking (n=7821), and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) drinking (n=3537) were singled out as proxies for risky health behaviors in children. A binary choice model for panel data with random effect specification was employed to examine whether the risky health behaviors can be transmitted from parents to their children. Subsequently, we conducted a seemingly unrelated test to explore the difference in parental transmission between SES groups. Results: We found strong intergenerational persistence of smoking, alcohol drinking, and SSBs drinking behaviors, except mothers’ smoking behavior. Mothers had a greater influence on children’s alcohol drinking and SSBs drinking behaviors than fathers, both in urban and rural areas, and in different SES groups. The intergenerational transmission of SSBs drinking behaviors exhibited a downward SES gradient for both urban and rural families. In urban areas, mothers’ drinking behavior has a downward gradient with their education level, occupation, and income, but in rural areas, the influence of mothers' drinking behavior is in the same direction with the upward gradient of education level and occupation type. In rural areas, the influence of fathers’ drinking and smoking behaviors appears to show a mainly positive gradient with SES, while some become a downward gradient among urban fathers. Conclusions: Parents’ behaviors and socioeconomic status could make sense in the initiation of their offspring’s risky health behaviors. To promote healthy behaviors, policymakers can introduce health education programs for parents, especially for rural areas and low SES parents.

Factors Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life amongst Employees in a Malaysian Public University

The current academic landscape has overwhelmed faculties and with demands to adopt tech-savvy teaching modes and accelerate scholarly works, administrative duties, and outreach programs. Such demands have deteriorated the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among university employees. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with HRQoL among university employees in a Malaysian public university. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 397 employees from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) between April and June 2019. A self-administered questionnaire that consisted of socio-demographic items, risky health behaviors, health-related information, and validated scales for measuring employees’ physical inactivity, psychological states, and HRQoL was utilized. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS version 23.0. Hierarchical multiple linear regression models were yielded to determine the factors associated with different domains of HRQoL. Mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS MACRO (Model 4). Statistical significance was set to p < 0.05. Physical HRQoL scored the highest, while environmental HRQoL had the lowest score among the employees. Physical HRQoL was influenced by age, service duration, comorbid conditions, BMI, chronic diseases, and anxiety. Factors associated with psychological HRQoL were age, service duration, depression, and stress. Age, service duration, and chronic diseases affected employees’ social relationship HRQoL, while environmental HRQoL was associated with age, occupation type, chronic diseases, and depression. Socio-demographics, risky health behaviors, health profiles, and psychological attributes were significantly associated with employees’ HRQoL. Age was the only positively correlated factor across all HRQoL domains, while other factors deteriorated employees’ HRQoL.

Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies and the Impact of COVID-19 on the HIV Care Continuum, Economic Security, Risky Health Behaviors, and Mental Health Among HIV-Infected Individuals in Vietnam

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and associated social responses may uniquely affect people living with HIV (PLHIV). SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing and a cross-sectional survey on COVID-19’s socio-behavioral impacts were conducted among a large PLHIV cohort in Hanoi, Vietnam. We examined anonymous antibody test results for 1243 PLHIV (99.8%) from whom plasma was obtained and completed surveys were collected in June/July 2020, just after the end of the first COVID-19 outbreak and nationwide lockdown. Three participants (0.2%) tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. HIV treatment was generally maintained without antiretroviral therapy interruption, but COVID-19 had substantial impacts on economic security and risky health behaviors among PLHIV, which may have amplified psychological stress. These findings highlight the need for continuous monitoring of COVID-19’s impacts on PLHIV and for efforts to mitigate these impacts.

Financial Literacy and Alcohol Drinking Behavior: Evidence from Japan

Alcohol consumption is an important public health issue in Japan due to its association with numerous side effects. Recent studies find that financial literacy helps people abstain from risky health behaviors such as smoking, lack of exercise, and gambling. This study investigates how financial literacy, as a rational decision-making instrument, is associated with alcohol consumption behavior in Japan. Using data from the Preference Parameter Study (PPS) of Osaka University, we categorize respondents into daily drinkers and non-daily drinkers. We find that financial literacy is not significantly associated with alcohol consumption among Japanese people. We argue that the prevailing social belief that alcohol consumption is not entirely negative from the health perspective and can be beneficial for socialization to some extent overrides people’s rationality and plays a significant role in alcohol consumption decisions. However, our study provides evidence that respondents who are males, middle-aged, have children, have higher household income, have smoking habits, and place more importance on the future are more likely to be daily drinkers. We argue that the availability and easy access to alcohol drinking opportunities likely make people irrational and tempts them to drink frequently. Thus, authorities might consider revising current policies regarding alcohol availability and accessibility to limit alcohol consumption.

Contrasting Effects of Finding Meaning and Searching for Meaning, and Political Orientation and Religiosity, on Feelings and Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Perceiving life as meaningful can buffer against negative experiences, whereas searching for meaning in life is often associated with negative outcomes. We examined how these individual differences, along with religiosity and political orientation, are associated with feelings and health-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic ( N = 7,220; U.S. nationally representative sample). Conservatism and religiosity predicted less negative effect; conservatives (but not the highly religious) were less likely to engage in preventive actions such as wearing face masks and social distancing. Controlling for political orientation, religiosity, and demographics, the presence of meaning in life predicted less negative affect and greater healthy preventive actions, whereas searching for meaning predicted greater negative affect and more preventive and risky health behaviors. Thus, the perception that life is meaningful not only predicts an individual’s emotional well-being but is also associated with beneficial actions that can help protect others from the spread of the coronavirus.