Studies in youth alcohol consumption and prevention

Background: Alcohol remains the ‘drug of choice’ for most young people and is responsible for a sizable proportion of deaths and injuries every year. In Sweden, total consumption and rates of heavy episodic drinking have reduced over the past ten years. At the same time, the number of adolescents admitted to hospital as a consequence of their drinking has risen. This unexpected trend warrants explanation with empirical research. The recent increase in serious alcohol-related harms also suggests there is more to learn about what works in prevention, including the effects of community-based approaches and targeted brief interventions. Objectives: The thesis has two main objectives; first, to describe recent trends in alcohol consumption among Swedish youth, with a particular focus on polarisation effects (Study I). The second objective is to examine the effects of various alcohol prevention strategies targeting young people, and what can be learnt from these interventions (Studies II-IV). Methods: Study I (polarized youth drinking) uses repeated cross-sectional self-report data from the Stockholm Student Survey to explore changes in alcohol consumption and risk factors associated with heavy drinking among year 9 and year 11 students in Stockholm between 2000 and 2010. Changes in the dispersion of consumption over time are reported. Study II also uses cross-sectional data to examine the effects of a comprehensive alcohol prevention trial targeting young people in 12 communities in Sweden between 2003 and 2007. Studies III and IV assess the effectiveness of a brief health education program on consumption and attitudes towards alcohol in high schools and the Swedish military, with assessments taken at 5 and 20 month follow-up. All participants were aged between 15 and 20 years. Results: Findings indicate that a polarization in youth drinking is a likely explanation for the recent divergence between alcohol consumption and serious alcohol-related harms among youth. We found significant increases in the dispersion of consumption over time, indicating more heavy drinkers in the tail end of the drinking distribution. Most adolescent in Stockholm continue to drink less or abstain from alcohol completely, but a minority continue to drink more alcohol. Results concerning the relationship between heavy drinking and risk factors were inconclusive. We found no significant improvements in six trial communities compared to six control communities following a four year multi-component community intervention primarily targeting young people, although adults in the trial communities developed more restrictive attitudes towards the supply of alcohol. The Prime for Life brief health education program did not lead to significant improvements in alcohol use or attitudes towards alcohol in either high school students or military conscripts. Conclusion: We suggest that ongoing social changes could be affecting young people in the form of greater disparities which are associated with a higher incidence of social problems generally, including heavy drinking. Communities can be mobilized to initiate the organizational changes necessary for effective alcohol prevention. However, for aggregate level effects on youth drinking, strategies with demonstrated effectiveness must be implemented consistently and given sufficient time to influence drinking habits. Brief health education strategies, such as Prime for Life, may help to improve short-term attitudes towards alcohol use, but are unlikely to result in sustained behaviour change

Correlates of sedentary behavior among adults with hazardous drinking habits in six low- and middle-income countries

Sedentary behaviour is associated with poor mental health, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, all of which are a concern among hazardous drinkers. Little is known about sedentary behaviour and it's correlates in hazardous drinkers, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We investigated correlates of sedentary behaviour among community-dwelling adults aged ≥18 years with hazardous drinking patterns in six low- and middle-income countries. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from the World Health Organization's Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. Hazardous drinking was defined as consuming > 7 (females) or > 14 (males) standard drinks per week. Associations between time spent sedentary and a range of correlates were examined using multivariable linear and logistic regression. The mean time spent sedentary in 2142 individuals with hazardous drinking patterns (mean age = 45.7 years; 13% female) was 216 ± 135 min/day. Nine percent (95%CI=6.1–13.2%) were sedentary for ≥8 h per day. Living in an urban setting and unemployment were strong sociodemographic correlates of being sedentary for ≥8 h per day. From a health-related perspective, weak grip strength, stroke and disability were associated with increasing time spent sedentary. The current data provides important guidance for future interventions across low- and middle-income countries to assist hazardous drinkers to reduce sedentary behaviour

Associations of interruptions to leisure-time sedentary behaviour with symptoms of depression and anxiety

Interruptions to time spent sitting can ameliorate detrimental metabolic-health consequences of high volumes of sedentary time, but their potential mental health benefits have not been examined. We used the Swedish Health Profile Assessment database, a general health assessment offered to all employees working for companies or organisations connected to occupational and health services. Cross-sectional analyses examined data from 40,550 employees (60% male, mean age = 42 years), collected in 2017–2019. Participants reported the proportion of time (almost always; 75% of the time; 50% of the time; 25% of the time; and almost never) usually spent in leisure-time sedentary behaviours; and, separately, the frequency (never; rarely; sometimes; often; and very often) of interruptions (every 30 min) to sedentary time. Logistic regression models assessed associations of sedentary time, and the frequency of interruptions to sedentary time, with depression/anxiety symptoms. Fully adjusted models included physical exercise. Compared to those in the lowest sedentary time category, those in the medium and high categories had 1.52 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.40–1.66) and 3.11 (95% CI = 2.82–3.42) higher odds of frequent depression/anxiety symptoms, respectively. Compared to those who never/rarely interrupted their sedentary time, those who reported interruptions sometimes, often and very often had 0.72 (95% CI = 0.65–0.80), 0.59 (95% CI = 0.53–0.65), and 0.53 (95% CI = 0.46–0.59) lower odds of depression/anxiety symptoms, respectively. In stratified analyses, more frequent interruptions to sedentary time were associated with lower odds of depression/anxiety symptoms, except among those in the lowest interruptions categories (never/25% of the time). More regularly interrupting sitting during leisure-time may reduce the odds of experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety

Physical activity and anxiety : A perspective from the World Health Survey

Background: Despite the known benefits of physical activity (PA) among people with anxiety, little is known about PA levels in people with anxiety at the population level. This study explored the global prevalence of anxiety and its association with PA. Methods: Cross-sectional, community-based data from the World Health Survey was analyzed. Prevalence of anxiety was estimated for 237,964 individuals (47 countries). PA was categorized as low, moderate, and high based on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form). The association between PA and anxiety was assessed by multivariable logistic regression. Results: The overall global prevalence of anxiety was 11.4% (47 countries). Across 38 countries with available data on PA, 62.5%, 20.2%, and 17.3% of the sample engaged in high, moderate, and low levels of PA respectively. The prevalence of low physical activity in those with and without anxiety was 22.9% vs. 16.6% (p <0.001) (38 countries, n=184,920). In the pooled model adjusted for socio-demographics, depression, and country, individuals engaging in low PA (vs. high PA) had 1.32 (95% CI=1.17-1.47) times higher odds for anxiety than those with high PA. Female sex, older age, lower education and wealth, and depression were also associated with low PA. At the individual country level, there was a significant positive association between low PA and anxiety in 17 of the 38 countries. Conclusion: Low PA levels are associated with increased prevalence of anxiety. There is a need for longitudinal research to establish the directionality of the relationships observed.Peer reviewe

Psychobiological mechanisms underlying the mood benefits of meditation: A narrative review

Psychological stressors can lead to distress and result in autonomic arousal and activation of a stress response. Ongoing or persistent stress can disrupt the stress response feedback mechanisms and result in elevated cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokines which can cause damage to brain regions involved in the regulation of mood and emotion. We propose that the magnitude of the stress response experienced in response to psychological stressors depends on a number of modifiable psychological processes including an individual’s level of self-compassion, dispositional mindfulness, tendency to ruminate and attentional bias. We further propose that the stress response elected by psychological stressors can be meditated by influencing these modifiable psychological processes, and that meditation practices can decrease stress and improve mood by decreasing stress reactivity on a psychological, physiological and neurobiological level. We explore this in a narrative review

Correlates of leisure-time sedentary behavior among 181,793 adolescents aged 12-15 years from 66 low- and middle-income countries

Background: Sedentary behavior is a growing public health concern in young adolescents from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, a paucity of multinational studies, particularly in LMICs, have investigated correlates of leisure-time sedentary behavior (LTSB) in young adolescents. In the current study, we assessed socio-demographic, socio-economic, socio-cultural and health behavior related correlates of LTSB among adolescents aged 12-15 years who participated in the Global school-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). Methods: Self-reported LTSB, which was a composite variable assessing time spent sitting and watching television, playing computer games, talking with friends during a typical day excluding the hours spent sitting at school and doing homework, was analyzed in 181,793 adolescents from 66 LMICs [mean (SD) age 13.8 (1.0) years; 49% girls). Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the potential LTSB correlates. Results: The overall prevalence of ≥3 hours/day of LTSB was 26.4% (95%CI=25.6%-27.2%). Increasing age (OR=1.14; 95%CI=1.11-1.17), past 30-day smoking (OR=1.85; 95%CI=1.69-2.03), alcohol consumption (OR=2.01; 95%CI=1.85-2.18), and bullying victimization (OR=1.39; 95%CI=1.31-1.48) were positively associated with increased LTSB across the entire sample of 181,793 adolescents. Food insecurity (OR=0.93; 95%CI=0.89-0.97) and low parental support/monitoring (OR=0.91; 95%CI=0.85-0.98) were negatively associated with LTSB. There were some variations in the correlates between countries. Conclusions: Our data indicate that in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years living in LMICs, LTSB is a complex and multi-dimensional behavior determined by socio-demograhic, sociocultural, socio-economic, and health behavior related factors. Future longitudinal data are required to confirm/refute these findings, and to inform interventions which aim to reduce sedentary levels in adolescents living in LMICs

The Difference of Grammatical Error in Writing Recount Text Between Natural Science and Social Science Students

This study concerned on the difference of grammatical error in writing recount text between natural science and social science students. The objective of this study was to find out the difference of grammatical error in writing recount text between natural science and social science students. This research was conducted by using causal- comparative research. The subject of the study was the students of XI-IPA1 and XI- IPS1 of SMA Swasta Methodist Berastagi. The number of the samples was twenty eight. The techniques for data analysis were quantitative data. The t-result was 2,60 (bigger than t table 1,706). The conclusion is that there is a significant difference of grammatical error in writing recount text between natural science and social science students