Maximal physiological responses to deep and shallow water running.

The maximal physiological responses to treadmill running (TMR), shallow water running (SWR) and deep water running (DWR) while wearing a buoyancy vest were compared in 15 trained male runners. Measurements included oxygen consumption (VO2 max), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and heart rate (HR). Treadmill running elicited VO2 max and HRmax, which were higher than the peaks attained in both water tests (p < 0.01). VO2 peak averaged 83.7 and 75.3% of VO2 max for SWR and DWR respectively. Peak HR for SWR and DWR were 94.1 and 87.2% of the HRmax reached in the TMR. RER responses were similar between the three modalities. The observations suggest that the training stimulus provided by water is still adequate for supplementary training. While SWR is potentially an efficient method of maintaining cardiovascular fitness, it needs to be investigated further to establish if it is a viable technique for the injured athlete to employ

What could keep young people away from alcohol and cigarettes? Findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND: Adolescents are vulnerable to risky behaviours that are likely to co-occur. We examined whether happiness, awareness of alcohol- or smoking-related harm or the size of friendship networks would be longitudinally associated with young people's risky behaviours. METHODS: We used available cases (N=1,729) from adolescents aged between 10 and 15 who participated in waves 2 and 3 of the UK Longitudinal Household Study that has annually collected population representative data from 40,000 UK households. The outcome variable was patterns of cigarette and alcohol use among adolescents (1= persistent non-use; 2= ex-use; 3= initiation; 4= persistent use) that we derived by tabulating current alcohol or cigarette use at waves 2 and 3. Explanatory variables were scores on participants' perception of overall happiness, awareness of harm due to alcohol and cigarette use, and supportive friendship network size, collected at wave 2. Covariates were participants' sex, age, base level of self-reported health status, reported religious affiliation, and household social position. All estimates were corrected for the complex survey design and non-response. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test assumed associations by taking persistent cigarette and alcohol use as the reference category. RESULTS: Findings showed higher happiness scores were longitudinally associated with adolescents' persistent non-use (RRR=1.06, 95% CI=1.01-1.13). Awareness of alcohol or cigarette use-related harm was longitudinally associated with persistent non-use (RRR=1.24, 95% CI 1.15-1.35) as well as initiation of alcohol or cigarette use (RRR=1.21, 95% CI=1.11-1.32). CONCLUSION: Joint interventions to promote happiness and harm awareness could help young adolescents from engaging with drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes

Associations between social media usage and alcohol use among youths and young adults; findings from Understanding Society

Background and Aims: Given the decline in alcohol consumption and rise in technological use among young people, there is a need to investigate whether technology use might influence how young people drink. This study explores how social media use and changes in social media use over time could affect alcohol use among youths. Design: The UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society). Setting: United Kingdom. Participants: Participants aged 10–15 (n = 4093) and 16–19 (n = 2689) from the youth and main survey interviewed in 2011–13, and followed-up in 2014–16 (aged 10–15 n = 2588, aged 16–19 n = 1057). Measurements: Self-reported social media usage on an average day (no profile/non-daily/less than an hour/1–3/4+ hours use), drinking frequency (never/one to three times/weekly) and binge drinking frequency (never/one to two/three/more than three times) in the past month. Covariates included sex, age, educational status, household income, urban/rural, number of friends and life satisfaction. Findings: Among 10–15-year-olds, compared with those who used social media for less than an hour, those with no profile [odds ratio (OR) = 0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.25–0.67] and non-daily users (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.33–0.72) had a lower risk of drinking at least monthly, whereas those with 1–3 hours’ use (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.14–1.81) and 4+ hours’ use (OR = 2.08, 1.47–2.95) had a greater risk. Among participants aged 16–19, a lower risk of binge drinking three or more times per month was found for those with no profile [relative risk ratios (RRR) = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.17–0.48] and a higher risk for those with 4+ hours’ use (RRR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.03–2.09). Longitudinally, among 10–15-year-olds, those who had increased their social media usage versus no change were more likely to have increased their drinking frequency (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.45–2.46). Some social media use at baseline (rather than none) was predictive of increased drink and binge drinking frequency over time among youths and young adults. Conclusions: Heavier social media use was associated with more frequent alcohol consumption among young people in the United Kingdom

The Role of Decision-Making in Psychological Wellbeing and Risky Behaviours in Autistic Adolescents Without ADHD: Longitudinal Evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

This study examined the development of decision-making and its association with psychological wellbeing and risky behaviours in adolescents with and without autism. Participants included 270 autistic and 9,713 typically developing adolescents. In both samples, those with a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were excluded. Data came from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative population-based birth cohort. Decision-making was assessed using the Cambridge Gambling Task at ages 11 and 14. Psychological wellbeing (happiness, self-esteem, depressive symptoms and self-harm) and risky/antisocial behaviours were self-reported at age 14. After adjusting for sex, cognitive ability, spatial working memory, socioeconomic status and pubertal status, autistic adolescents showed comparable quality of decision-making to that of their peers at both ages but also a more deliberative decision-making style as they aged. Only in autistic adolescents was this decision-making style associated with positive outcomes

Gestational age on trajectories of social competence difficulties into adolescence

OBJECTIVES: To examine if gestational age groups predict the development of social competence difficulties (SCDs) from childhood into mid-adolescence and to assess the mediation by maternal psychological distress during infancy on these trajectories. DESIGN: Nationally representative population-based birth cohort (UK Millennium Cohort Study). PARTICIPANTS: 15 821 children born in 2000-2002. OUTCOME MEASURES: SCDs (derived from peer and prosocial subscales of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) were assessed by parent report when the participants were aged 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14 years. Maternal psychological distress was self-rated using Rutter Malaise Inventory when the children were 9 months of age. Data were modelled using latent growth curve analysis. RESULTS: Developmental trajectories of SCDs were U-shaped in all groups. Very preterm (VP) children (<32 weeks, n=173) showed pronounced difficulties throughout, with the coefficient difference from the full term at age 14 being 0.94 (95% CI 0.23 to 1.66, equivalent to 0.32 SD of the population average SCDs). Moderate-to-late preterm children (32-36 weeks, n=1130) and early-term children (37-38 weeks, n=3232) showed greater difficulties compared with the full-term peers around age 7 years, which resolved by age 14 years (b=0.20, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.44; b=0.03, 95% CI -0.12 to 0.17, respectively). Maternal psychological distress during infancy mediated 20% of the aforementioned association at age 14 years for the VP. CONCLUSION: There was a dose-response association between gestational age and the trajectories of SCDs. Monitoring and providing support on social development throughout childhood and adolescence and treating early maternal psychological distress may help children who were born earlier than ideal, particularly those born VP

The clustering of health-related behaviours in a British population sample: testing for cohort differences

Research findings indicate that health-related behaviours (HRBs) do not co-occur within individuals by chance and therefore cluster. This study uses Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), to identify the clustered patterns and prevalence of four HRBs: smoking, alcohol, diet, physical activity. We used data, collected from participants in their early 30s, from two British cohorts born in 1958 and 1970 (N=21,019). Multi-group LPA models were run separately by gender testing for cohort differences in HRB cluster patterns. For both genders three clusters emerged: 'Risky' (1-9%), 'Moderate Smokers' (20-30%) and 'Mainstream' (68-77%). HRBs amongst members of the 'Mainstream' cluster were more beneficial than HRBs amongst members of the other two clusters, characterised as not smoking, frequent fruit and vegetable consumption, less frequent consumption of chips and fried food and being more physically active. Nevertheless, frequent consumption of sweet foods was common in the 'Mainstream' cluster. There was a large shift in membership to the 'Mainstream' cluster for men and women born in 1970. Amongst women members of the 'Mainstream' cluster, a higher proportion of those born in 1970 appeared to have drunk alcohol above the contemporaneous UK recommended limits but consumed sweet foods less frequently, than those born in 1958. In summary our findings provide additional evidence of HRB clustering, identifying largely consistent HRBs cluster patterns across cohort and gender groups, with some differences in prevalence. This evidence of HRB clustering across time and by gender provides a person-centred understanding that can inform interventions to improve HRBs

Drunkenness and heavy drinking among 11 year olds - findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Heavy drinking among young people is linked to negative consequences including other risky behaviours, educational failure and premature mortality. There is a lack of research examining factors that influence heavy and binge drinking in early adolescence as prior work has focused on older teenagers. The objective of this paper was to identify individual and family factors associated with drunkenness and episodes of heavy drinking in early adolescence. We analysed data on 11,046 11year olds from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios for associations. 1.2% of participants reported having been drunk, and 0.6% reported having had 5 or more drinks in a single episode. Participants who reported drunkenness were more likely to be boys (1.6% vs 0.7%, p<0.01), to have socioemotional difficulties (2.6% vs 1.0%, p<0.001), to report antisocial behaviours (none=0.6%, 1=2.0%, 2 or more=7.0%, p<0.001), report truancy (6.0% vs 1.0%, p<0.001), smoke cigarettes (12.0% vs 0.8%, p<0.001). Parental drinking did not appear to be associated with the odds of drunkenness. Associated with higher odds of drunkenness were: having friends who drank (OR=5.17); having positive expectancies towards alcohol (OR 2+=2.02); ever having smoked cigarettes (OR=5.32); the mother-child relationship not being close (OR=2.17). Associated with a reduced odds of drunkenness was having a heightened perception of harm from drinking 1-2 drinks daily (OR - some risk=0.48, great risk=0.40). Our findings support policies aimed at multiple levels, starting in the preadolescent years, which incorporate individual, family, and peer factors

Social influences on health-related behaviour clustering during adulthood in two British birth cohort studies

Building upon evidence linking socio-economic position (SEP) in childhood and adulthood with health-related behaviours (HRB) in adulthood, we examined how pre-adolescent SEP predicted membership of three HRB clusters: “Risky”, “Moderate Smokers” and “Mainstream” (the latter pattern consisting of more beneficial HRBs), that were detected in our previous work. Data were taken from two British cohorts (born in 1958 and 1970) in pre-adolescence (age 11 and 10, respectively) and adulthood (age 33 and 34). SEP constructs in pre-adolescence and adulthood were derived through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Conceptualised paths from pre-adolescent SEP to HRB cluster membership via adult SEP in our path models were tested for statistical significance separately by gender and cohort. Adult SEP mediated the path between pre-adolescent SEP and adult HRB clusters. More disadvantaged SEP in pre-adolescence predicted more disadvantaged SEP in adulthood which was associated with membership of the “Risky” and “Moderate Smokers” clusters compared to the “Mainstream” cluster. For example, large positive indirect effects between pre-adolescent SEP and adult HRB via adult SEP were present (coefficient 1958 Women = 0.39; 1970 Women = 0.36, 1958 Men = 0.51; 1970 Men = 0.39; p < 0.01) when comparing “Risky” and “Mainstream” cluster membership. Amongst men we found a small significant direct association (p < 0.001) between pre-adolescent SEP and HRB cluster membership. Our findings suggest that associations between adult SEP and HRBs are not likely to be pre-determined by earlier social circumstances, providing optimism for interventions relevant to reducing social gradients in HRBs. Observing consistent findings across the cohorts implies the social patterning of adult lifestyles may persist across time

Platinum(ii) Diimine Diacetylides: Metallacyclization Enhances Photophysical Properties

The synthesis, structural characterization, and photoluminescence properties of a new platinum(II) diimine complex bearing the bidentate diacetylide ligand tolan- 2,2\u27-diacetylide (tda), Pt(dbbpy)( tda) [dbbpy) = 4,4\u27-di-tert-butyl-2,2\u27-bipyridine], are described. In CH2Cl2, Pt( dbbpy)( tda) exhibits a strong visible charge-transfer absorption and broad emission centered at 562 nm. The photoluminescence quantum yield and excited-state lifetime are 0.52 and 2.56 mu s, respectively, at room temperature. These parameters indicate that the planarization and rigidity introduced by the cyclic diacetylide leads to a lower-energy-absorbing species displaying enhanced photophysics relative to the analogous Pt( dbbpy)( C = CPh)(2). Time-dependent density functional theory calculations, which include solvation by CH2Cl2 via the polarizable continuum model, are used to reveal the nature of the excited states in these molecules that are responsible for the charge-transfer transitions. The 77 K emission spectra of the two compounds in EtOH/MeOH glasses are compared, uncovering tda-based ligand-localized phosphorescence in the title compound