Life style related to blood pressure and body weight in adolescence: Cross sectional data from the Young-HUNT study, Norway

Background The associations between physical activity, unhealthy dietary habits and cigarette smoking and blood pressure, overweight and obesity are well established in adulthood. This is not the case for similar associations in adolescence. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how physical activity, smoking status and dietary habits were related to overweight, obesity and blood pressure in a population of Norwegian adolescents. Methods Weight, height, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated among 8408 adolescents who participated in a population based study in 1995–97 in the county of Nord-Trøndelag. Internationally accepted cut-off values were used to determine if the adolescents were overweight or obese. The adolescents also completed a detailed questionnaire including dietary habits, physical activity and smoking habits. We calculated adjusted mean blood pressures and odds ratios for being overweight or obese for different exposure categories of life style variables. Results Low levels of physically activity were associated with increased odds of being overweight (odds ratio (OR), 1.4; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1–1.8 in girls and OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6–2.5 in boys) or obese (girls: OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.6–6.0; boys: OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 2.1–6.4). In addition, the least physically active girls had a 1.5 mmHg higher mean DBP compared with the most active (p-trend <0.001), and among boys this difference was 1.0 mmHg (p-trend < 0.001). Smokers were more likely to be obese (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1–2.5 in girls and 1.4; 95% CI, 0.9–2.1 in boys) compared with non-smokers. Smokers also had lower mean SBP than non-smokers; however, this finding was restricted to smokers with the lowest smoking exposure. Associations between dietary habits and weight status largely disappeared after adjusting for weight losing behaviour. Conclusion In this population of adolescents low levels of physical activity were associated with higher mean DBP and higher odds of overweight or obesity. Smoking was also associated with higher odds of overweight and obesity. The paradoxical associations between healthy dietary habits and overweight and obesity are most likely an effect of reverse causality

Reading and writing difficulties in adolescence and later risk of welfare dependence. A ten year follow-up, the HUNT Study, Norway

Background: Welfare dependence and low work participation among young people have raised concern in many European countries. Reading and writing difficulties (RWD) might make young people vulnerable to work integration problems and welfare dependence through negative influences on education and health. Our main objective of this study was to examine if RWD in adolescence affected the risk of welfare dependence in young adulthood. Methods: Baseline information on self-reported RWD, health and family was obtained for 8950 school-attending adolescents in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway, participating in the Young-HUNT1 survey, 1995-97. All individuals were linked to biological parents to identify siblings and parental education from national registers. Welfare dependence was assessed by the reception of social benefits (medical and economic) from the national social insurance database (1998-2007). Only long-term benefits (> 180 days) were included. Results: The adolescents who reported RWD at baseline were more likely to receive medical or social benefits during follow-up compared with those who did not report RWD. In girls with RWD, the adjusted 5-year risk (at age 24 to 28) for receiving medical benefits was 0.20 (95% confidence interval 0.14-0.26), compared with 0.11 (0.09- 0.12) in girls without RWD. In boys the corresponding risks were 0.13 (0.09-0.17) and 0.08 (0.07-0.09). Conclusions: The associations between RWD in adolescence and welfare dependence later in life suggest that increased attention should be paid to these problems when discussing the public health aspects of work integration, since there might be a potential for prevention

"Don't call it a disease"– adolescents with asthma

The aim of this study was to describe how adolescents experience having asthma. Data was recorded from 39 adolescents, 18 girls and 21 boys, interviewed by using Focus Groups. Mean age was 14 year (12 to 16 years). They were observed and interviewed within 7 groups. Most (80 %) had had asthma for more than 10 years. All but two, used inhaled steroids. Only 33 % had experienced respiratory symptoms more than once a week during the last 14 days. The adolescents did not experience themselves as having a disease, and to discuss having asthma with other youths were unusual for most. Some felt that they had to deal with a demanding environment without the aid of a supportive network. They expressed mistrust by teachers and friends related to physical training and school activities as most traumatically. Adolescents are at high risk for poor outcomes from asthma owing to lifestyle and developmental changes. The result of the study suggest a need to better inform the people in the adolescent´s surrondings (i.e. school teachers and friends) about asthma. Teachers and parents have an important task: to find physically challenging activities as well as leisure activities that strengthen the adolescent´s selfesteem and ability to cope with their asthma. The focus group´s methods allowed the adolescents to experience a supportive social enviroment and created openness conserning their health problems. There is a need for further studies about the adolescents, chronic disease and quality of life

Weight status and hypertension among adolescent girls in Argentina and Norway: Data from the ENNyS and HUNT studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To provide data on overweight, obesity and hypertension among adolescent girls in Norway and Argentina.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data was obtained from two population-based, cross-sectional and descriptive studies containing anthropometric and blood pressure measurements of 15 to 18 year old girls. The study included 2,156 adolescent girls from Norway evaluated between 1995 and 1997, and 669 from Argentina evaluated between 2004 and 2005.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Around 15% of adolescent girls in Norway and 19% in Argentina are overweight or obese. Body mass index (BMI) distribution in these two countries is similar, with a low percentage (< 1%) of girls classified as thin. Norwegian adolescents show a height mean value 8 cm taller than the Argentinean. Obesity is strongly associated with systolic hypertension in both populations, with odds ratios of 11.4 [1.6; 82.0] and 28.3 [11.8; 67.7] in Argentina and Norway, respectively. No direct association between BMI and systolic hypertension was found, and only extreme BMI values (above 80^th- 90^thpercentile) were associated with hypertension.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study confirms a current world health problem by showing the high prevalence of obesity in adolescents and its association with hypertension in two different countries (one developed and one in transition).</p

Association between blood pressure measures and recurrent headache in adolescents: cross-sectional data from the HUNT-Youth study

The relationship between blood pressure and headache in youth has not been explored and the objective of the present study was to provide data on this association in an adolescent population. Cross-sectional data from a large population-based survey, the Young-HUNT study, on 5,847 adolescents were used to evaluate the association between blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, mean arterial and pulse pressure) and recurrent headache, including migraine and tension-type headache. Increasing pulse pressure was inversely related to recurrent headache prevalence, and both tension-type headache and migraine. For systolic blood pressure such an inverse relationship was present for recurrent headache and tension-type headache prevalence. For migraine, the results were not significant, although there was a tendency in the same direction (p = 0.05). High-pulse pressure has previously been found to be inversely related to the prevalence of migraine and tension-type headache in an adult population. This inverse relationship has now been demonstrated to be present among adolescents also, supporting the results from a previous study in adults, that blood pressure regulation may be linked to the pathophysiology of headache

The influence of behavioural and health problems on alcohol and drug use in late adolescence - a follow up study of 2 399 young Norwegians

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Both early alcohol debut, behavioural and health problems are reported to enhance adolescence substance use. This prospective study investigate the influence of behavioural and health problems on adolescents' alcohol and drug use.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Prospective population based cohort study of 2 399 adolescents attending the Young-HUNT study, aged 13-15 at baseline in 1995/97, and 17-19 at follow-up 4 years later. Exposure variables were self reported conduct problems, attention problems, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and muscular pain and tension. Outcome variables at follow-up were frequent alcohol use and initiation of drug use. Associations were estimated by logistic regression models, influence of gender and drinking status at baseline were controlled for by stratification.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At follow-up 19% of the students drank alcohol once a week or more frequently. Baseline conduct problems (OR 2.2, CI 1.7-3.0) and attention problems (OR 1.5, CI 1.2-2.0) increased the risk for frequent alcohol use at follow-up in the total population. Girls who had experienced alcohol-intoxications at baseline showed strong association between baseline problems and frequent alcohol use at follow-up. Conduct problems (OR 2.5, CI 1.3-4.8), attention problems (OR 2.1, CI 1.2-3.4), anxiety/depressive symptoms (OR 1.9, CI 1.1-3.1) and muscular pain and tension (OR 1.7, CI 1.0-2.9) all were associated with frequent alcohol use among early intoxicated girls.</p> <p>14% of the students had tried cannabis or other drugs at follow-up. Conduct problems at baseline increased the odds for drug use (OR 2.6, CI 1.9-3.6). Any alcohol intoxications at baseline, predicted both frequent alcohol use (boys OR 3.6, CI 2.4-5.2; girls OR 2.8, CI 1.9-4.1), and illegal drug use (boys OR 4.7; CI 3.2-7.0, girls OR 7.7, CI 5.2-11.5) within follow-up.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Conduct problems in high-school more than doubles the risk for both frequent alcohol use and initiation of drug use later in adolescence. The combination of health problems and alcohol intoxication in early adolescence was closely associated with more frequent drinking later in adolescence among girls.</p> <p>Overall, early alcohol intoxication was closely associated with both frequent alcohol use and drug use at follow up in both genders</p

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and metabolically healthy obesity in Europe: a collaborative analysis of ten large cohort studies

Peer reviewe

Parental alcohol misuse and hazardous drinking among offspring in a general teenage population: gender-specific findings from the Young-HUNT 3 study

Background Parental alcohol misuse may negatively affect drinking behaviours among offspring, but it is unclear to what extent influences are gender-specific and dependent upon the actual drinking behaviour measured. The aim of this study was to investigate whether hazardous drinking among Norwegian teenage boys (N = 2538) and girls (N = 2494) was associated with paternal and maternal alcohol misuse (CAGE). Methods Definitions of hazardous drinking among offspring were based on self-reported alcohol consumption (in litres a year), frequency of drinking, and frequency of drunkenness. Based on this information, two composite measures of hazardous drinking were also constructed. Cross-sectional data from the Norwegian Young-HUNT 3 survey (2006–2008) were linked to information from biological parents who participated in the adult part of the HUNT study. Results Logistic regression analyses showed that both boys and girls with alcohol misusing fathers were more likely to report high levels of alcohol intake compared to others of the same age and gender. This was contrary to boys with misusing mothers, who reported less alcohol consumption than other boys. Among girls, but not boys, high frequency of drunkenness was associated with maternal as well as paternal misuse. Conclusions This study suggests that adolescent hazardous drinking is more prevalent among boys and girls with alcohol misusing parents versus those whose parents do not misuse alcohol. However, findings were gender specific and varied depending on the drinking outcomes under investigation. More evidence-based knowledge in this field is of great importance for better understanding the possible role paternal and maternal alcohol misuse may play in the development of hazardous alcohol drinking patterns among adolescent boys and girls

Adolescents with wheeze have increased risk of additional health problems. The Young-HUNT study, Norway

OBJECTIVE: To explore the hypothesis of an association between current wheeze and other health problems in adolescence and to investigate any sex differences. METHODS: N=8817 adolescents aged 13-19 years completed a self-administered questionnaire including questions on health and lifestyle in Norway (1995-1997). RESULTS: All subjective health problems were significantly more prevalent in current wheezers compared to non-wheezers (frequent headache: girls 18% vs. 9%, boys 8% vs. 3%; frequent neck and shoulder pain: girls 10% vs. 5%, boys 6% vs. 2%; frequent joint and muscle pain: girls 6% vs. 2%, boys 6% vs. 2%; and frequent abdominal pain: girls 10% vs. 3%, boys 3% vs.1%). In both sexes, adjusted for covariates, current wheezers had statistically significant increased risk of reporting frequent headache (girls OR=2.0, boys OR=2.9), frequent neck and shoulder pain (girls OR=1.9, boys OR=3.3), frequent joint and muscle pain (girls OR=2.7, boys OR=3.5) and frequent abdominal pain (girls OR=2.7, boys OR=2.0). CONCLUSIONS: Current adolescent wheezers reported more additional health problems compared to non-wheezers. Even if girls reported more symptoms in general, the associations were stronger in boys. The findings are important for the clinical approach to teenage wheezers and should increase doctors' awareness of coexistence of other health complaints in these patients