Physical activity and sedentary behaviours levels of Kuwaiti adolescents: the study of health and activity among adolescents in Kuwait

Background: There are scarce number of studies describing the lifestyle of adolescents living in Arab countries. We described physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours patterns among Kuwait adolescents and the associations with parental education. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 435 adolescents (201 boys) from the Study of Health and Activity among Adolescents in Kuwait (SHAAK), conducted between 2012-2013. Outcomes variables included PA (Actigraph GT1M accelerometers) and sedentary behaviours. Exposure variable was parental education. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the association between parental education and outcomes variables. Results: Total sedentary time (minutes/day) was higher in girls (568.2 ± 111.6) than boys (500.0 ± 102.0), whereas boys accumulated more minutes in light, moderate and vigorous PA (all P-values≤0.001). In total, 3.4% of adolescents spent ≥60 minutes/day of moderate to vigorous PA (by accelerometry) whilst only 21% met screen-time guidelines. Low/medium maternal education was associated with a higher odds of exceeding screen-time guidelines (OR, 95% CI: 2.09, 1.09-4.02). Conclusions: Most Kuwaiti adolescents in this sample were physically inactive and exceeded screen-time guidelines. Objective PA was not socially patterned, yet an inverse association between maternal education and screen-time behaviours was found

Associations between informal caregiving, combining caregiving and work with adiposity for UKHLS women stratified by age group.

<p>Associations between informal caregiving, combining caregiving and work with adiposity for UKHLS women stratified by age group.</p

Associations between informal caregiving and adiposity for UKHLS men.

<p>Associations between informal caregiving and adiposity for UKHLS men.</p

Associations between informal caregiving and adiposity for UKHLS women.

<p>Associations between informal caregiving and adiposity for UKHLS women.</p

Characteristics of the study sample.

<p>Characteristics of the study sample.</p

Social isolation and loneliness: relationships with cognitive function during 4 years of follow-up in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of social isolation and loneliness, individually and simultaneously, on cognitive function in older adults during a 4-year period, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and to evaluate if these associations are moderated by educational level. Methods: Data on social isolation, loneliness, and cognitive function (verbal fluency, immediate recall, and delayed recall) were obtained at baseline. Follow-up measures on cognitive function were obtained 4 years later for 6034 participants (mean age at baseline = 65.6 years). Regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between baseline isolation, loneliness, and cognitive function at follow-up. Interactions between social isolation, loneliness, and educational level were also evaluated. Results: Baseline isolation was significantly associated with decreases in all cognitive function measures at follow-up (A = j.05 to j.03, p G .001), independently of baseline scores, whereas loneliness was associated with poorer immediate recall (A = j.05, p G .001) and delayed recall (A = j.03, p = .02). There was a significant interaction between educational level and both isolation (p = .02) and loneliness (p = .01) for delayed recall, such that isolation and loneliness were associated with poorer recall only among those with low levels of education. Conclusions: Loneliness and isolation are associated with poorer cognitive function among older adults. Interventions to foster social connections may be particularly beneficial for individuals with low levels of education. Key words: social isolation, loneliness, cognitive function, older adults, education, cognitive reserve

Educational Inequalities in Obesity among Mexican Women: Time-Trends from 1988 to 2012

<div><p>Background</p><p>Obesity is one of the leading causes of global morbidity and mortality. Trends in educational inequalities in obesity prevalence among Mexican women have not been analysed systematically to date.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Data came from four nationally representative surveys (1988, 1999, 2006, and 2012) of a total of 51 220 non-pregnant women aged 20 to 49. Weight and height were measured during home visits. Education level (higher education, high school, secondary, primary or less) was self-reported. We analysed trends in relative and absolute educational inequalities in obesity prevalence separately for urban and rural areas.</p><p>Results</p><p>Nationally, age-standardised obesity prevalence increased from 9.3% to 33.7% over 25 years to 2012. Obesity prevalence was inversely associated with education level in urban areas at all survey waves. In rural areas, obesity prevalence increased markedly but there was no gradient with education level at any survey. The relative index of inequality in urban areas declined over the period (2.87 (95%CI: 1.94, 4.25) in 1988, 1.55 (95%CI: 1.33, 1.80) in 2012, trend p<0.001). Obesity increased 5.92 fold (95%CI: 4.03, 8.70) among urban women with higher education in the period 1988–2012 compared to 3.23 fold (95%CI: 2.88, 3.63) for urban women with primary or no education. The slope index of inequality increased in urban areas from 1988 to 2012. Over 0.5 M cases would be avoided if the obesity prevalence of women with primary or less education was the same as for women with higher education.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The expected inverse association between education and obesity was observed in urban areas of Mexico. The declining trend in relative educational inequalities in obesity was due to a greater increase in obesity prevalence among higher educated women. In rural areas there was no social gradient in the association between education level and obesity across the four surveys.</p></div

Relative index of inequality (RII) stratified by birth cohort in urban areas.

<p>*p<0.001.</p>∼<p>p<0.05.</p

Trend in relative inequalities in obesity for urban and rural Mexican women 1988–2012.

<p>Each point represents the relative index of inequality (RII) for the particular year. Error bars represent the 95% confidence intervals of the RII. Plotted estimates are adjusted for age.</p

Age standardised distribution of women for selected characteristics 1988–2012.

<p>Standard errors in parenthesis.</p