Unhealthy Behaviours of School Children

Aim: The objective of the study was to ascertain nutritional customs of pupils in grade schools.Material and Method: Anonymous questionnaires were done to a sample of 380 children, aged 10 to 14, in 20 fourth-to eight grade classes from 2 schools in Cluj-Napoca: one from down-town, the other one from a poorer neighbourhood.Results: Almost half of students revealed to have an irregular diet. In the last month, some of them did not have enough food or money to buy it (much of them come from the poorer neighbourhood). In this latest school, a triple percent of children have a vegetable diet (no meat, in fact). The obsession to lose weight and the irregular diet has conducted to lose appetite in over 30% of girls. About 60% take vitamins or nutritional supplements. Social status as well as the irregular diet is reflected in general status: over one third feel sad, alone, useless or cry without any reason. Some of the pupils which have problems with daily food supply, think the life is hard and do not worth to live it.Conclusions: There is a wide diversity in nutritional customs of children. Some of them are due to inappropriate nutritional knowledge or a wrong perception of being on fashion as well as to social status. Although the economic conditions are difficult to change, we consider that nutrition education should still be a part of health teaching

Assessment of health risk behaviours and their interrelationships among young people from two counties of Romania

Aim: The first goal of this study was to assess the prevalence of different health risk behaviours among Romanian young people. Next, the interrelationship between different health risk behaviours as well as age and gender differences with respect to health risk behaviours were examined. Subjects and methods: Self-administered questionnaires were completed by a sample of 1,598 junior high school students, senior high school students and university students from urban and rural areas of two counties of Romania. Results: The results showed that 31% of junior high school students, 59.7% of senior high school students and 64.8% of university students reported more than one risk behaviour. Many of the risk behaviours were likely to correlate with each other and the strongest correlation was found between smoking, alcohol-related behaviour and precocious sexual intercourse. Factor analysis revealed that among junior high school students all health risk behaviours loaded on one factor. In senior high school students and university students the risk behaviours split into two factors, based probably on their frequency and severity. Factor 1 comprised smoking, alcohol-related behaviours as well as precocious sexual intercourse, while factor 2 included less common behaviours: violence, delinquency and illicit drug use. No gender differences were observed regarding the relationship between health risk behaviours. Conclusion: The results stress the importance of developing prevention programmes among Romanian youth for the behaviours discussed. Further research is needed to identify how to best offer these programmes: as stand-alone programmes or as an integrated set of programmes and whether the same approach has to be taken for younger and older adolescents

An Increasing Trend of Illicit Drug Use Among Romanian University Students from 1999 to 2011

Aim The present study investigates the evolution of illicit drug use among Romanian university students from 1999 to 2011. Methods The study was performed in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in three phases: in 1999 (T1), in 2003 (T2) and in 2011 (T3).The study was carried out by means of anonymous questionnaires among university students aged 19-24. Results The results show that among girls the lifetime illicit drugs use increased statistically significantly from 2.5% in 1999 to 7.5% in 2003 and to 15% in 2011. Among boys the trend was also increasing, the prevalence of illicit drug use was 14.2% at T1, 18.1% at T2, and it increased dramatically to 30.6% at T3. The percentage of students reporting cannabis use was almost identical with the total prevalence of illicit drug use. Ecstasy was the second most frequent drug used by the students; its consumption had also an increasing trend during the examined periods (from 0 to 5.6% among girls and from 0.8% to 11.2% among boys).The results of the bivariate correlation analyses show that lifetime illicit drug use was associated with having friends who experimented with illicit drugs both among boys and girls. Moreover, girls who declared stress management problems and depressive episodes were more likely to try illicit drugs, while among boys illicit drug use was associated with poorer academic performance. Conclusions The data pointed out by our study call for comprehensive actions regarding the prevention of illicit drug use among Romanian young people

Knowledge of the health risks of smoking and impact of cigarette warning labels among tobacco users in six European countries: Findings from the EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe Surveys

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to examine knowledge of health effects of smoking and the impact of cigarette package warnings among tobacco users from six European Union (EU) Member States (MS) immediately prior to the introduction of the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) in 2016 and to explore the interrelationship between these two factors. METHODS Cross-sectional data were collected via face-to-face interviews with adult smokers (n=6011) from six EU MS (Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Spain) between June-September 2016. Sociodemographic variables and knowledge of health risks of smoking (KHR) were assessed. Warning salience, thoughts of harm, thoughts of quitting and foregoing of cigarettes as a result of health warnings were assessed. The Label Impact Index (LII) was used as a composite measure of warning effects. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to examine sociodemographic predictors of KHR and LII and the inter-relationship between knowledge and LII scores. RESULTS The KHR index was highest in Romania and Greece and lowest in Hungary and Germany. While the majority of smokers knew that smoking increases the risk for heart diseases, lung and throat cancer, there was lower awareness that tobacco use caused mouth cancer, pulmonary diseases, stroke, and there were very low levels of knowledge that it was also associated with impotence and blindness, in all six countries. Knowledge regarding the health risks of passive smoking was moderate in most countries. The LII was highest in Romania and Poland, followed by Spain and Greece, and lowest in Germany and Hungary. In almost all countries, there was a positive association between LII scores and higher KHR scores after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Several sociodemographic factors were associated with KHR and LII, with differences in these associations documented across countries. CONCLUSIONS These data provide evidence to support the need for stronger educational efforts and policies that can enhance the effectiveness of health warnings in communicating health risks and promoting quit attempts. Data will serve as a baseline for examining the impact of the TPD

Unravelling data for rapid evidence-based response to COVID-19: a summary of the unCoVer protocol

Introduction unCoVer - Unravelling data for rapid evidence-based response to COVID-19 - is a Horizon 2020-funded network of 29 partners from 18 countries capable of collecting and using real-world data (RWD) derived from the response and provision of care to patients with COVID-19 by health systems across Europe and elsewhere. unCoVer aims to exploit the full potential of this information to rapidly address clinical and epidemiological research questions arising from the evolving pandemic. Methods and analysis From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, partners are gathering RWD from electronic health records currently including information from over 22 000 hospitalised patients with COVID-19, and national surveillance and screening data, and registries with over 1 900 000 COVID-19 cases across Europe, with continuous updates. These heterogeneous datasets will be described, harmonised and integrated into a multi-user data repository operated through Opal-DataSHIELD, an interoperable open-source server application. Federated data analyses, without sharing or disclosing any individual-level data, will be performed with the objective to reveal patients' baseline characteristics, biomarkers, determinants of COVID-19 prognosis, safety and effectiveness of treatments, and potential strategies against COVID-19, as well as epidemiological patterns. These analyses will complement evidence from efficacy/safety clinical trials, where vulnerable, more complex/heterogeneous populations and those most at risk of severe COVID-19 are often excluded. Ethics and dissemination After strict ethical considerations, databases will be available through a federated data analysis platform that allows processing of available COVID-19 RWD without disclosing identification information to analysts and limiting output to data aggregates. Dissemination of unCoVer's activities will be related to the access and use of dissimilar RWD, as well as the results generated by the pooled analyses. Dissemination will include training and educational activities, scientific publications and conference communications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Research in the field of tobacco control in Central and Eastern Europe: case studies from Romania

Introduction The objective of this paper is to present the landscape of research in the field of tobacco control from Romania in the last 25 years. Material and Methods The paper highlights the following issues 1. Training, capacity building, national and international cooperation for enhancing research in the field of tobacco control in Romania 2. Research activities which allowed the collection of data regarding tobacco use prevalence and factors which influence it 3. Research regarding development, implementation and evaluation of smoking prevention and cessation programs as well as monitoring and evaluation of tobacco control policies . The data are based on data from literature, as well as the experience of the author in this field. Results The paper presents different national and international projects which made possible research in the field of tobacco control in Romania, underlining the lessons which were learned. It includes implementation of Global Youth Tobacco Survey, Global Adult Tobacco Survey, Health Behavior in School aged Children study, Eurest-Plus project as well as several projects for smoking prevention and cessations such as Smoke Free Class Competion, Quit and Win, Adolescent Smoking Cessation, I do not smoke- a peer led smoking cessation project for adolescents, Development of the first computer tailored smoking cessation program for Romanian adults, Tobacco Cessation Guidelines for High Risk Population. Conclusions The paper analyzes strengths and weaknesses of research in the field of tobacco control in Romania and explores possibilities for continuing and enhancing activities in this field

Road Safety Related Behaviours of Romanian Young People

Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the behaviors with risk for road traffic injuries among Romanian young people. Material and Method: Self-administered questionnaires were completed by the study sample consisting of 1598 junior high school students, senior high school students and university students aged 11-24 years from both urban and rural areas of two counties (Cluj and Hunedora) of Romania. Results: The results show that around 80% of the junior high school students and more than 90% of the senior high school students and university students who go by bike do not wear helmets or use them rarely when they are cycling. Seatbelts are used more frequently than the helmets, but still more than one third of the junior high school students and senior high school students and a quarter of the university students do not use seatbelts or use them rarely. In the month previous the survey around one quarter of the students travelled in a car whose driver used alcohol before driving. Moreover, 15% of the university students who drove recognized that, at least once during their life, they did this after they used alcohol. Conclusions: The results indicate that comprehensive actions must be developed in order to prevent road traffic injuries among Romanian young people. They must include educational programs for youngsters and parents as well as adoption and enforcement of legislative measures and technical actions, which promote road safety

Effects of comprehensive smoke-free legislation in Europe Efectos de la legislación antitabaco en Europa

This paper reviews data regarding the effects of the legislation banning smoking in enclosed public places, including workplaces, restaurants and bars which entered into force in several countries of Europe starting with the year 2004. The source of data is represented by articles and short information published in peer reviewed journals or in electronic format between the years 2005 and 2008. Highlights include a consideration of the effects of these laws on the attitudes of the population regarding their implementation, exposure to passive smoking in public places as well as the scientific evidence on the public health and economic impact of these laws. The results of smoking ban in public places observed in several parts of Europe support initiatives in many countries toward implementing smoke-free legislation, particularly those who have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls for legislation to reduce tobacco smoke pollution.Se revisaron datos sobre el impacto de las leyes que prohíben fumar en espacios públicos cerrados, incluyendo centros de trabajo, restaurantes y bares, las cuales entraron en vigor en varios países de Europa en 2004. La fuente de datos incluye artículos indexados y notas breves publicadas en revistas científicas o en formato electrónico entre 2005 y 2008. Los hallazgos incluyen una descripción del impacto de estas leyes sobre las actitudes de la población con respecto a su implementación, la exposición al humo de tabaco ambiental en espacios públicos cerrados, así como la evidencia científica sobre el impacto de estas leyes en la salud pública y en la economía. Los resultados de la prohibición de fumar en lugares públicos que se observaron en varios países de Europa confirman la importancia de promulgar iniciativas legislativas para crear ambientes libres de humo de tabaco en varios países del mundo, en particular en aquellos que han ratificado en Convenio Marco para el Control del Tabaco, que promueve una legislación para reducir la contaminación del aire con humo de tabaco

Smoking prevention among youth: do we need educational programs?

This presentation focuses on smoking prevention among adolescents and young people. Highlights include considerations regarding school-based programmes, family based interventions, community programs, mass-media campaigns and the use of new forms of information and communication technology for smoking prevention and health promotion. It will address issues regarding development, implementation, evaluation and diffusion of smoking prevention programs for youth and will explore the role of educational programs within tobacco control long-term strategies

Choline Intake and Its Food Sources in the Diet of Romanian Kindergarten Children

The objective of this study is to assess the usual intake and food sources of choline in a group of Romanian kindergarten children. A cross-sectional study was performed among 71 children aged 4–6 years from four kindergartens from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Dietary intake data were collected by means of three-day food records. The mean (SD) daily intake of choline was 215 (32) mg/day, 22.5% of the participants fulfilling the adequate intake (AI) for children 4–6 years of age of 250 mg of choline per day. The main food sources were meat (mainly poultry), eggs, grains, cereals, and baked products (mainly bread), and dairy products (mainly milk). The results of the logistic regression analyses show that an appropriate consumption of choline/day was statistically significantly associated with the consumption of at least one egg per three days (OR = 7.5, p < 0.05), a minimum of two portions of milk or dairy products per day (500 mL milk or yoghurt, or 60 g of cheese/day) (OR = 4.4, p < 0.05), and at least one portion of meat/day (90 g/day) (OR = 14.4, p < 0.05). The results underline the need for future surveys in this field, as well as actions to encourage an appropriate diet for children, including an appropriate content of choline