Consumption of fish and Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has been described as ‘one of the most disabling and burdensome health conditions worldwide’ and is responsible for approximately 70% of dementia in the elderly. Based on the current prevalence of AD, an aging world population and the associated projected health care requirements, it is estimated that by 2050, the prevalence of AD will reach 104 million with around 43% requiring ongoing health care. If the onset of AD can be reduced by as little as one year, the prevalence could be reduced by 10%. There is substantial commonality in research findings to date around the positive influence of seafood consumption in reducing the risk of dementia and AD. Emerging concern about the sustainability of global fisheries supports the recommendation of selective consumption of sustainable wild caught and increased emphasis on production of farmed fish supplies to meet consumption needs.     

Canadian parents and children’s knowledge of ADHD

The present study examined attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) knowledge of children with ADHD and their parents. Given the important role that parents play in advocating for their children, a better understanding of their knowledge of ADHD is critical. Additionally, understanding what children with ADHD themselves know about the disorder may provide insight into how best to support this vulnerable population. As such, 29 children with ADHD and their parents completed questionnaires measuring their ADHD knowledge across 3 areas: ADHD symptoms, treatment and general knowledge. Results found parents to be most knowledgeable in the area of ADHD symptoms and least in general information. Encouragingly, children with ADHD were found to have generally good knowledge regarding ADHD and, more importantly, reported positive attitudes regarding receiving help from their parents and teachers to manage their ADHD symptoms. These results have implications for individuals providing ADHD education to parents and children and, more specifically, may provide insight into specific areas of misconception.     

Men’s Controlling Behaviors and Women’s Experiences of Physical Violence in Malawi

In the feminist paradigm, intimate partner violence (IPV) among heterosexual couples is gender asymmetric and largely a tactic of male control. However, research on the relationship between men’s controlling behavior and physical violence against women is limited. This study examines whether having a controlling partner is associated with women’s reports of experiencing physical violence in Malawi. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using data from 8,385 women who completed the domestic violence module of the Malawi 2004 Demographic and Health Survey. About 18 % of women reported they had experienced moderately severe physical violence and 1 % experienced very severe violence in the past 12 months. A third of women reported their partners had ever been controlling. Results from multivariable ordinal logistic regression showed that women who had controlling partners were significantly more likely to report experiencing physical violence. Other factors significantly associated with women’s experience of physical violence included women who reported initiating physical violence against their partners, women’s work status, partners’ lower education level, and partners’ alcohol consumption. Women with controlling partners were at increased risk of experiencing physical violence in the past year. However, women who reported initiating physical violence in the past year were nearly four times more likely to experience partner violence in the same time period. Future research should attempt to elucidate these two important risk factors for IPV.     

Lead Content and Exposure from Children’s and Adult’s Jewelry Products

No abstract available.     

Provider’s and User’s Perspective about Immunization Coverage among Migratory and Non-migratory Population in Slums and Construction Sites of Chandigarh

Strengthening routine immunization is a corner stone for countries to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) which aims to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds and MDG 5 improving maternal health compared to 1990 estimates by 2015. The poor urban newborns are more vulnerable to many health and nutrition problems compared to the non-poor urban counterparts. Therefore there is a need to strengthen health system to cater the needs of urban poor. Standardized WHO30*7 cluster sampling for slums and convenience sampling for construction sites. In depth interviews were conducted for user’s as well as provider’s perspective about immunization coverage. Two hundred ten children and 210 mothers were enrolled in slums and 100 were sampled from construction sites. The slum workers are considered as non-migratory groups whereas construction site workers are considered as migratory population. Among children, 23 % were fully immunized, 73 % were partially immunized and 3 % were unimmunized in non-migratory population whereas 3 % were fully immunized, 91 % were partially immunized and 6 % were unimmunized in migratory population. Among mothers, 43 and 39 % were fully immunized, 13 and 15 % partially immunized and 43 and 46 % were unimmunized in non-migratory and migratory population, respectively. The various reasons attributed for low coverage are (a) dissatisfaction of the users with the service delivery and procedural delays (bureaucracy), (b) lack of faith in health workers, (c) insistence upon ID/vaccination card/aadhar card by the health worker before vaccinating child and (d) ignorance of the need of immunization by the people and migration of the population.     

Gender Stereotypes and Preconception Health: Men’s and Women’s Expectations of Responsibility and Intentions to Engage in Preventive Behaviors

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Introduction As mounting evidence underscores the importance of both men and women taking steps before pregnancy to improve reproductive outcomes, public health...     

Women’s Hedonic Ratings of Body Odor of Heterosexual and Homosexual Men

Men's body odor influences women's mate choice and individual variation among traits affects hedonic perceptions of this odor (e.g., immune system characteristics). Previous research by Sergeant (2002) indicated that one such characteristic is sexual orientation: body odor from homosexual men was perceived by heterosexual women as more hedonically pleasing than that of heterosexual men. The current study re-examined the influence of men's sexual orientation on women's perceptions of body odor. Homosexual (n=10) and heterosexual (n=9) men produced samples of body odor using T-shirts under equivalent environmental conditions. Heterosexual women (n=35) rated these samples, and a set of unused T-shirts, using a series of hedonic scales. Women rated the body odor of homosexual men as being comparatively more pleasant, sexier, and more preferable than that of heterosexual men but not significantly different from the unused T-shirts. This finding was consistent with contemporary research demonstrating that an individual's sexual orientation significantly impacts their olfactory function, both in terms of body odor production and olfactory perceptions of certain compounds.     

Gender and Binegativity: Men’s and Women’s Attitudes Toward Male and Female Bisexuals

This study assessed the influence of gender on attitudes about bisexuals. A total of 164 heterosexual female and 89 heterosexual male undergraduates completed the Biphobia Scale (Mulick & Wright, 2002), rewritten to refer to bisexual men and bisexual women and thus re-named the Gender-Specific Binegativity Scale. A mixed-design ANOVA revealed an interaction between rater’s sex and target’s sex: women equally accepted bisexual men and bisexual women, but men were less accepting of bisexual men than bisexual women. A mediation analysis indicated the relationship between rater’s sex and greater acceptance of bisexual women was partially explained by eroticization of female same-sex sexuality. Finally, participants also responded to two open-ended items, which provided additional information about the content of binegativity: participants described male bisexuals negatively, as gender-nonconforming, and labeled them “really gay,” whereas participants described female bisexuals positively, as sexy, and labeled them “really heterosexual.” These findings suggest multiple underlying beliefs about bisexuals that contribute to binegativity, particularly against bisexual men. Results also confirm the importance of considering gender (of both the target and the rater) when assessing sexual prejudice.     

An Assessment of Romani Women’s Autonomy and Timing of Pregnancy in Serbia and Macedonia

Background Roma are Europe’s largest minority population. Serbia and Macedonia have the greatest proportion of Roma outside of the European Union. Our objective was to examine women’s agency and how it related to desired timing of pregnancy among Romani women in Macedonia and Serbia. Methods We surveyed 410 Romani women who had given birth in the last 2 years between November 2012–February 2013 in Serbia and Macedonia using purposeful snowball sampling. Log-Poisson models were used to examine the association between women’s inclusion in healthcare decision- making and desired timing of pregnancy. Results Romani women in Macedonia and Serbia were excluded from the labor market, with over 80% being unemployed, approximately 30% had no schooling, and 17% were not included in healthcare decisions. Romani women who were sole decision-makers in relation to their health were 1.4 times more likely to desire the timing of their most recent pregnancy [RRR?=?1.4, CI (1.1, 1.8)]. Conclusions Romani women who have great involvement in their own healthcare decisions were more likely to desire the timing of their current pregnancy. Women’s inclusion in such important decisions is important and empowerment programs that address gender inequity are needed in Romani communities, particularly for control of timing of pregnancy.     

A Review of Family and Social Determinants of Children’s Eating Patterns and Diet Quality

With the growing problem of childhood obesity, recent research has begun to focus on family and social influences on children’s eating patterns. Research has demonstrated that children’s eating patterns are strongly influenced by characteristics of both the physical and social environment. With regard to the physical environment, children are more likely to eat foods that are available and easily accessible, and they tend to eat greater quantities when larger portions are provided. Additionally, characteristics of the social environment, including various socioeconomic and sociocultural factors such as parents’ education, time constraints, and ethnicity influence the types of foods children eat. Mealtime structure is also an important factor related to children’s eating patterns. Mealtime structure includes social and physical characteristics of mealtimes including whether families eat together, TV-viewing during meals, and the source of foods (e.g., restaurants, schools). Parents also play a direct role in children’s eating patterns through their behaviors, attitudes, and feeding styles. Interventions aimed at improving children’s nutrition need to address the variety of social and physical factors that influence children’s eating patterns.     

The Indirect Effect of Family Cohesion on Children’s Weight Status Through Maternal Quality of Life and Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

Background

Obesity has serious psychosocial consequences for youth and family members and has reached epidemic levels in Portugal.

Objective

This study had two goals: (1) to investigate differences in family cohesion, mothers’ quality of life (QoL), and externalizing/internalizing symptoms between children/adolescents with healthy-weight and overweight/obesity; (2) to assess the mediating role of maternal QoL and children/adolescents’ externalizing/internalizing symptoms in the association between family cohesion and weight.

Methods

Children/adolescents with healthy-weight (n = 134) and with overweight/obesity (n = 163) and their mothers participated in the study. Mothers completed measures of family cohesion (FC) and QoL and children/adolescents completed measures of externalizing and internalizing symptoms. This study used a cross-sectional design.

Results

Children/adolescents with overweight/obesity reported higher levels of externalizing and internalizing symptoms than children/adolescents with healthy-weight. Mothers of children/adolescents with overweight/obesity reported lower levels of FC and QoL than mothers of children/adolescents with healthy-weight. Mothers’ QoL and children/adolescents’ externalizing symptoms sequentially mediated the relationship between FC and weight status. Specifically, an increase in FC and QoL resulted in a decreased likelihood of the child/adolescent reporting overweight or obesity, whereas an increase in externalizing symptoms resulted in a higher likelihood of the child/adolescent reporting overweight or obesity.

Conclusions

This study identifies mechanisms that might account for the link between FC and weight, suggesting the importance of mothers’ QoL and children’s externalizing symptoms. Moreover, it provides a better understanding of the psychosocial outcomes related to pediatric obesity, highlighting the relevance of working with the parents to promote weight reduction in youths.

     

The Associations of Parents’ and Children’s Anxiety Sensitivity with Child Anxiety and Somatic-Hypochondriac Symptoms

Background

The clinical relevance of Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) is well established, as well as the association between parents’ and children’s AS. However, there is little data data on the indirect relation between parents’ AS and children’s anxiety and somatic-hypochondriac symptoms through children’s AS, and the few findings available are inconsistent.

Objective

The study examined, in a community sample, whether children’s AS was associated to their anxiety and somatic-hypochondriac symptoms, and tested whether children’s AS mediated the link between parents’ AS and children’s anxiety and somatic-hypochondriac symptoms.

Methods

A total of 392 children and one of their parents completed a battery of questionnaires.

Results

Children’s AS mediated the links between parents’ AS and children’s anxiety and somatic-hypochondriac symptoms. These pathways were moderated by the child’s age, in that they were significant for older children (ages 11–17 years old), but not for younger ones (ages 8–10 years old).

Conclusions

The findings advance understanding of how parental AS might be implicated in children’s AS and clinical symptoms.

     

The smoker’s paradox and the real risk of smoking

No satisfactory explanations have been offered for the smokers paradox, the greater short-term survival of smokers after a myocardial infarction nor for the large variations in the coronary risk rate for smoking ranging between 1 and 5.9. These discrepancies as well as the smokers paradox may be caused by different baseline characteristics of smokers and nonsmokers, whereas the usually quoted coronary risk of 2 is derived from studies based on the assumption of equal baseline characteristics. As neither this assumption nor the possibility of unequal starting conditions have been tested, we examined the main cardiovascular risk factors in smoking and nonsmoking boys as near as possible to baseline, at the age of fourteen. This age appeared to be best suited, because boys starting to smoke early are most likely to become regular and heavy smokers. Of 336 boys, 39 had smoked 8.3 ± 6.0 cigarettes/day for 15.5 ± 11.2 months. Compared to nonsmokers, boys who started to smoke early had lower LDL cholesterol and ₂-antiplasmin, greater handgrip strength, vital capacity and forced expiratory volume, better perfomance on bicycle ergometry and higher testosterone. The differences in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, vital capacity, handgrip strength, testosterone and ₂-antiplasmin persisted after adjustment for age, body mass, and testosterone. In addition, the differences in perfomance on bicycle ergometry and forced expiratory volume persisted after adjustment for age. These favourable baseline characteristics of those starting to smoke early can explain the smokers paradox. In addition, they suggest that the individual coronary risk in smokers is considerably higher than 2, because the assumption of equal baseline characteristics of smokers and nonsmokers cannot be upheld.This revised was published online in April 2005. In the previous version the article category was missing.     

Who’s Responsible? Media Framing of Pediatric Environmental Health and Mothers’ Perceptions of Accountability

How the media frames issues of environmental health may affect mothers’ views of who is responsible for addressing environmental risks to pediatric health and, ultimately, their protective behaviors. This article describes how information-oriented media sources attribute responsibility for such risks and examines associations between mothers’ routine media exposure, or scanning, and perceptions of responsibility. First, a content analysis was conducted on a sample of 474 media stories (i.e., Associated Press, parenting magazines, and websites) about childhood exposure to environmental chemicals over a 6-month period (September 2012–February 2013). We found that media stories attributed responsibility most frequently to parents, though significant differences were observed across media sources, such that websites focused more on parents and general news more on government agencies and manufacturers. Next, we conducted an online survey of mothers (N = 819) and revealed that website scanning during the prior 6 months was significantly associated with perceived personal responsibility, even after we adjusted for potential confounders. Scanning general news was also significantly associated with perceived government and manufacturer responsibility. Understanding media framing of these issues highlights opportunities for health communicators to offset pressure placed on mothers by encouraging greater social and policy support in and exposure to certain media.     

Visceral politics: obesity and children’s embodied experiences of food and hunger

Children have been made a priority in Australian government obesity interventions, with programmes tending to focus on promoting behaviour change in food and exercise practices. This paper reports findings from ethnographic research with a group of Australian children aged 10–14 years living in a low socio-economic suburban setting. We propose that central to these children’s experiences of food and eating is the negotiation and management of hunger. Historically, disadvantage has been embodied and inscribed on children’s bodies in very visible ways, and the coexistence of hunger and obesity is part of this continuum. Despite considerable evidence of food insecurity in our research site, issues of hunger were absent in an obesity intervention underway at the time. We examine how hunger was felt in children’s lives, how it was managed and the ways in which messages about eating less, while eating more ‘healthy foods’, were at odds with the children’s experiences of hunger. Moreover, we argue that hunger and obesity in this context were doubly stigmatised, as children were very aware of how their hunger and their bodies marked them as different and disadvantaged. Attention to both the embodied and social impacts of hunger on children and their everyday relationships is key in formulating more sensitive, contextualised public health interventions.