International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health最新文献

We investigated associations between polysubstance use and behavioral problems among adolescents. Because substance use becomes more developmentally normative with age, we examined whether polysubstance use was less likely to co-occur with behavioral problems among older (vs. younger) adolescents. Using data from a nationally representative survey of US high school students, we compared the association between polysubstance use (i.e., use of alcohol, cannabis, tobacco/nicotine, and illicit drugs) and behavioral problems (i.e., suicide attempts, depressive symptoms, poor school performance, and sexual risk behaviors) by grade level. We conducted latent class analysis (LCA) to characterize patterns of polysubstance use, and multi-group LCA to estimate invariance by grade. Among the three latent classes that emerged, classes were distinguished by having low, moderate, and high probabilities for behavior problems and use of substances. Class I comprised 52% of the sample, whereas classes II and III comprised 35% and 12% of the sample, respectively. The multi-group LCA showed that younger adolescents had a higher relative probability of co-occurring problem behaviors and polysubstance use. Findings may be helpful in targeting screening and prevention efforts of high school students by grade. Specifically, our results provide evidence that associations between behavioral problems and alcohol/drug use are weaker in later high school grades, suggesting that substance use may not be a weaker marker of behavioral problems for students in higher grades.

This cross-sectional study assessed the magnitude of inequalities in self-rated oral health (SROH) among different socioeconomic groups in Brazil. Secondary data from interviews with a sample of adults (≥18 years) from the national health survey 2013 (n = 64,308) and 2019 (n = 88,531) were analyzed. Positive SROH was considered when participants selected the good or very good options. Socioeconomic indicators were monthly household income and years of education. The magnitude of inequalities among socioeconomic groups was estimated using the Slope (SII) and Relative Index of Inequality (RII). Interaction term assessed changes in SII/RII over time. Estimates were adjusted for sex and age. The prevalence of SROH was 67.50% in 2013 and 69.68% in 2019. Individuals with lower socioeconomic indicators had a lower prevalence of positive SROH. Significant reductions in the magnitude of the education-based RII between 2013 (1.58) and 2019 (1.48) in Brazil, as well as in north (1.70; 1.45) and northeast (1.50; 1.41) regions and reduction in the income-based RII in the north (1.71; 1.51) were observed. Socioeconomic inequalities in SROH persist across different Brazilian regions, although there was a reduction in disparities among education groups in 2019 compared with 2013. The findings of this study suggest that equitable Brazilian oral health policies may have contributed to reducing SROH inequality over time.

Background: Bioaerosols can represent a danger to health. During SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, portable devices were used in different environments and considered a valuable prevention tool. This study has evaluated the effectiveness of the air treatment device "AEROK 1.0^®" in reducing microbial, particulate, and pollen airborne contamination indoors, during normal activity.

Methods: In an administrative room, airborne microbial contamination was measured using active (DUOSAS 360 and MD8) and passive sampling; a particle counter was used to evaluate particle concentrations; a Hirst-type pollen trap was used to assess airborne pollen and Alternaria spores. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0; p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The airborne bacterial contamination assessed by the two different samplers decreased by 56% and 69%, respectively. The airborne bacterial contamination assessed by passive sampling decreased by 44%. For fungi, the reduction was 39% by active sampling. Airborne particles (diameters ≥ 1.0, 2.0 μm) and the ratio of indoor/outdoor concentrations of total pollen and Alternaria spp. spores significantly decreased.

Conclusions: The results highlight the effectiveness of AEROK 1.0^® in reducing airborne contamination. The approach carried out represents a contribution to the definition of a standardized model for evaluating the effectiveness of devices to be used for air disinfection.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between both parental dental fear and children's dental fear and its impact on the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) of Saudi children in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: Data on 93 individuals aged 7-12 years were collected using clinical examination and Arabic-validated questionnaires: the Child Oral Health Impact Profile-Short Form (COHIP-SF19), and the Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS). Negative binomial regression analysis was performed to study the association between children's fear and parental dental fear as well as the OHRQoL, while adjusting for certain confounders.

Results: Overall, our multivariate analyses showed that children with high dental fear (CFSS-DS ≥ 38, p = 0.027) and a higher percentage of dental caries (p = 0.013) had a significantly lower OHRQoL after adjusting for clinical and socio-demographic factors. Further, parental fear of dentists was significantly associated with children's fear of dentists (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that children's fear and dental caries are both associated with poorer OHRQoL. Further, parental dental fear about dentists was associated with children's fear of dentists.

Suicide research is directed at understanding social, economic, and biological causes of suicide thoughts and behaviors. (1) Background: Worldwide, certain countries have high suicide mortality rates (SMRs) compared to others. Age-standardized suicide mortality rates (SMRs) published by the World Health Organization (WHO) plus numerous bibliographic records of the Web of Science (WoS) database provide resources to understand these disparities between countries and regions. (2) Methods: Hierarchical clustering was applied to age-standardized suicide mortality rates per 100,000 population from 2000-2019. Keywords of country-specific suicide-related publications collected from WoS were analyzed by network and association rule mining. Keyword embedding was carried out using a recurrent neural network. (3) Results: Countries with similar SMR trends formed naturally distinct groups of high, medium, and low suicide mortality rates. Major themes in suicide research worldwide are depression, mental disorders, youth suicide, euthanasia, hopelessness, loneliness, unemployment, and drugs. Prominent themes differentiating countries and regions include: alcohol in post-Soviet countries; HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, war veterans and PTSD in the Middle East, students in East Asia, and many others. (4) Conclusion: Countries naturally group into high, medium, and low SMR categories characterized by different keyword-informed themes. The compiled dataset and presented methodology enable enrichment of analytical results by bibliographic data where observed results are difficult to interpret.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the sixth most common type of cancer globally. While smoking is a key risk factor, rising cases in non-smokers highlight the need to explore other factors like diet. This scoping review aims to deepen the evidence on the relationship between OSCC and diet, following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, and was registered on Open Science Framework. Searches were performed in four electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Lilacs, without date or language restrictions. Studies were evaluated, extracted, and compiled in a narrative table. Seventeen studies with 10,954 patients were analyzed. Most patients were male (74.63%), aged 18-89 (average 50.62). Studies were mainly from high (82%) and medium (17%) Human Development Index (HDI) countries. Dietary surveys included a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) (58.8%), interviews/questionnaires (17.6%), and an FFQ with a photographic atlas (5.9%). Certain foods in excess like fruits, vegetables, and tea were inversely associated with OSCC, while salty meats, dairy, coffee, sausages, and fried and spicy foods were positively associated. Due to the heterogeneity of the tools used to obtain food frequency data, the results should be interpreted cautiously. New standardized studies and randomized trials are essential to advance understanding and control confounding factors in this field.

The proportion of older adults is increasing globally, yet many of them experience food insecurity. Technological innovations, such as increased access to internet- and mobile-based food delivery apps (FDAs), may help mitigate food insecurity. However, this topic has been understudied. This scoping review searched for publications and online technical reports from around the world using interdisciplinary databases like ScienceDirect and internet sources like government websites, respectively. Eligible references were published recently (2019-present) and focused on general technology use, including apps, among older adults (≥50 years) or FDAs for food insecurity or nutritional health generally or specifically among older adults. The search identified 19 studies from 10 countries and extracted relevant information for summary tables. A limited number of studies supported the idea that FDAs can help address food insecurity, but there are important equity considerations for older adults living in rural areas or with constrained physical abilities. Consistently, customized app features and functions increased the intention to use FDAs. In addition, FDAs may have health and environmental impacts, such as food waste and increased access or promotion of ultraprocessed foods. Additional research is needed to elucidate the potential of FDAs to address food insecurity generally and specifically among older adults.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) remains a major cause of illness and death, with personal and non-addiction-related barriers. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of hospital staff on barriers to smoking cessation interventions (SCIs) for in-patients at a DR-TB management hospital in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of eighteen hospital staff (HS), and the data were analyzed using NVivo 10. Three core themes were identified: patients' barriers (addiction to tobacco, relapse after improvement in health, and non-disclosure of smoking status to HS), staff personal barriers (poor knowledge of smoking's effect on treatment outcomes and smoking cessation aids), and institutional barriers (staff shortage, time constraints, lack of pharmacological smoking cessation aids, access to cigarettes around hospital premises, and SCIs not prioritized and not assigned to a specific category of HS). Training on SCIs for HS, assigning SCIs to specific HS, integrating SCIs within existing services, and banning access to cigarettes within the hospital premises are assumed to assist DR-TB patients in smoking cessation, improving their response to TB treatment and overall health outcomes.

The present study examines adolescents' perceptions of both constructive and aggressive forms of bystander support and how these perceptions differ according to whether an acquaintance of the target, a friend of the target or a public figure is providing it. Ninety-nine adolescents between 13 and 17 years old (M_age = 14.42; SD = 1.35) participated in this study. Adolescents viewed a total of nine videos, each depicting a public cyberbullying situation on Instagram and a form of constructive or aggressive bystander support from an acquaintance, a friend, or a public figure in relation to the target of cyberbullying. After each video, adolescents were asked how helpful or hurtful the bystander's form of support was on a Likert-type scale. A significant relationship was found between the bystander's relationship to the target, the form of support and the helpfulness of bystander support. Overall, support from friends was perceived as helpful regardless of whether it was constructive or aggressive. Moreover, it was seen as harmful for acquaintances to engage in aggressive behaviours in support of targets of cyberbullying, but generally helpful for public figures to engage in those same behaviours.

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are frequently discussed by people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The aim of this study is to explore CAM use in Australians with IBD. This cross-sectional study was conducted via an anonymous online survey, predominantly distributed through IBD-specific social media accounts. Data collection occurred over a three-month period in 2021. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square tests, and binary logistic regression were used to analyse quantitative data. A simple thematic analysis was conducted for qualitative free-text responses. Of the 123 responses, acupuncture (12.2%) and chiropractors (8.9%) were common CAM practitioners accessed. CAM practitioners were perceived to be 'very helpful' compared to mainstream health practitioners. The most common CAM products reported were vitamins (51.2%), probiotics (43.9%), and herbal medicine (30.9%). Common reasons for use were improved perceived improvements to wellbeing or for long-term management of IBD. Females were more likely to access CAM practitioners (OR 12.6, 95% CI 1.62-98.1, p = 0.02). Doctors were the participants' primary source of information (64.2%), although many expressed dissatisfaction with conventional therapy and the desire for a more holistic approach to care. The use of CAMs in this sample was high. Limited research into the efficacy and safety of these therapies may prevent health professionals from discussing their use with patients. Improved communication with health professionals will allow patients to be active partners in their healthcare plans and can heighten patient satisfaction with conventional therapy.