Social Media Use and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depressed Mood among Adolescents

Many studies have found a relationship between social media use and symptoms of emotional distress, such as depression and anxiety. However, the existing research lacks longitudinal analyses, a thorough understanding of the possible mechanisms involved in this relationship, and if they appear to be similar for girls and boys. This Thesis extends previous research by examining longitudinally the association between social media use and symptoms of emotional distress among a cohort of adolescents, as well as the possible mechanisms involved. The specific aims of the Thesis were to 1) examine changes in symptoms of anxiety and depressed mood among male and female adolescents in Iceland from 2006 to 2016; 2) examine longitudinally the association between time spent on social media and symptoms of anxiety and depressed mood; 3) examine active and passive social media use and how different types of social media use relate to symptoms of anxiety and depressed mood. Cross-sectional data among participants in the eighth to tenth grade from compulsory schools in Iceland and longitudinal data from a cohort of adolescents born in 2004 were used in the analyses. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, linear regression, binomial logistic regression, hierarchical linear regression, and mixed model design. When looking at patterns based on cut-off scores, the proportion of adolescents reporting high symptoms of depressed mood increased over time by 1.6% and 6.8% for girls and boys, respectively, and high symptoms of anxiety increased by 1.3% for boys and 8.6% for girls. Mean level change in these symptoms significantly increased for girls, but symptoms of anxiety decreased for boys. The interaction between time spent on social media and time was significant for symptoms of depressed mood and physical symptoms of anxiety, and the relationship between time spent on social media and all three psychological distress outcomes was significantly stronger for girls than boys. Passive social media use related to greater symptoms of emotional distress and active social media use to fewer symptoms. After adding known risk and protective factors to the analyses, only passive social media use remained significant for emotional distress. Time spent on social media had a stronger relationship with emotional distress for girls than boys. Overall, the findings reveal that there is an increase in symptoms of emotional distress among adolescents and that social media use is associated with these symptoms. It is important to examine further the different types of social media use instead of focusing on time spent on social media alone, as well as taking individual factors and gender into account. A deeper understanding of the possible risks and benefits involved in social media use, however, will be necessary if social media is to play a greater role in fostering healthy relationships and connections

Nutrition and Iron Status of 1-Year Olds following a Revision in Infant Dietary Recommendations

A previous study showed low iron status in 12-month-old Icelandic infants associated most strongly with cow's milk intake and growth. Infant dietary recommendations were revised in 2003. This study investigated nutrition and iron status in a new infant cohort. Subjects/Methods. Randomly selected infants were prospectively investigated for diet, anthropometry, and iron status (n = 110–141). Results. Breastfeeding initiation rate was 98%; 38% of 5-month olds were exclusively and 20% of 12-month olds partially breastfed. Formula was given to 21% of 6-month olds and 64% of 12-month olds, but cow's milk to 2.5% and 54.4% of 6- and 12-month olds, respectively. Iron depletion (serum ferritin < 12 μg/L) affected 5.8%, 1.4% were also iron deficient (MCV < 74 fl), and none were anemic (Hb < 105 g/l). Iron status associated negatively with growth and breastfeeding duration and positively with meat and formula intake at 9–12 months, but not with cow's milk. Conclusion. Improved iron status might be explained by a shift from cow's milk to formula in the diet of Icelandic 6–12-month olds. Dietary changes altered associations between foods and iron status

Imaging of penetrating thoracic trauma in a large Nordic trauma center

Background Penetrating trauma is rarely encountered in Nordic trauma centers, yet the incidence is increasing. Typical imaging findings in penetrating trauma should thus be familiar to all radiologists. Purpose To evaluate incidence and imaging findings of penetrating chest trauma, gunshot wound (GSW) and stab wound (SW) injury spectrum, imaging protocols, and outcome in a large trauma center. Material and Methods Trauma registry data from 2013-2016 was retrieved, and imaging accessed through hospital PACS. Retrieved variables included age, gender, injury severity scores, mechanism of injury, time to CT, and 30-day mortality. Depth of thoracic, pulmonary, abdominal and skeletal injury, active bleeding, and use of chest tubes were evaluated. Results Of 636 patients with penetrating injuries, 443 (69.7%) underwent imaging. Of these, 161 (36.3%) had penetrating thoracic injuries. Of 161 patients with penetrating chest trauma in imaging, 151 (93.8%) were men (mean age = 34.9 years) and 10 (6.2%) were women (mean age = 40.7 years). The majority of patients had SWs (138 SW vs. 15 GSW). Patients with GSWs were more severely injured (mean ISS 17.00 vs. 8.84 [P=0.0014] and ISS >= 16 in 53.3% vs. 16.7%) than SW patients. In CT, intrathoracic injuries were found in 49.4% (77/156) and active bleeding in 26.3% (41/156). Emergency surgery was performed in 6.2% (10/161) with postoperative CT imaging. Thirty-day mortality rate was 1.2% (2/161). Conclusion Penetrating thoracic trauma often violates intrathoracic structures and nearby compartments. Arterial phase whole-body CT is recommended as multiple injuries and active bleeding are common. CT after emergency surgery is warranted, especially to assess injuries outside the surgical field.Peer reviewe

Associations between infant feeding practice prior to six months and body mass index at six years of age.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.Rapid growth during infancy is associated with increased risk of overweight and obesity and differences in weight gain are at least partly explained by means of infant feeding. The aim was to assess the associations between infant feeding practice in early infancy and body mass index (BMI) at 6 years of age. Icelandic infants (n = 154) were prospectively followed from birth to 12 months and again at age 6 years. Birth weight and length were gathered from maternity wards, and healthcare centers provided the measurements made during infancy up to 18 months of age. Information on breastfeeding practices was documented 0-12 months and a 24-h dietary record was collected at 5 months. Changes in infant weight gain were calculated from birth to 18 months. Linear regression analyses were performed to examine associations between infant feeding practice at 5 months and body mass index (BMI) at 6 years. Infants who were formula-fed at 5 months of age grew faster, particularly between 2 and 6 months, compared to exclusively breastfed infants. At age 6 years, BMI was on average 1.1 kg/m2 (95% CI 0.2, 2.0) higher among infants who were formula fed and also receiving solid foods at 5 months of age compared to those exclusively breastfed. In a high-income country such as Iceland, early introduction of solid foods seems to further increase the risk of high childhood BMI among formula fed infants compared with exclusively breastfed infants, although further studies with greater power are needed.University of Iceland Research Fund Landspitali National University Hospital Research Fund American Scandinavian Foundation Thor Thors Memorial Fun

A Psychological Perspective on Compensation for Harm: Examining the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (the Fund) established after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 poses a challenge to authorities due to the highly unusual circumstances for which the Fund was created. The goal of this Article is to argue that this challenge neither should nor can be met by directly applying conventional legal standards developed for tort cases, but rather that these legal approaches need to be supplemented by taking into account what is known abou the psychology of harm and justice

A repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Icelandic baby food market surveyed in 2016, 2019 and 2021

Funding Information: This study was supported by the Icelandic Research Fund (196157‐051) and a project grant from the Research Fund of the University of Iceland. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that countries need to know their local commercial baby food (CBF) market. Data from other countries suggest rapid changes in CBF options, highlighting the need for repeated analysis. In that context, this repeated cross-sectional study analysed the options and nutrient quality of different CBF types available in Iceland in years 2016, 2019 and 2021. Data was gathered on formulas, porridge flours, foods in jars and pouches, finger-foods, other CBF. They were classified into 26 subgroups based on ingredients and taste (sweet/savoury). Minimum consumer age as suggested by the manufacturers and nutritional content were registered. In each data-collection, 250–275 products were available. Over a third of products (37%–44%) were in pouches. Availability of products intended for 4–11-month-old infants decreased, driven largely by a 65% decrease in availability of food in jars (sweet/savoury) between 2016 and 2021. Availability of products intended from 12+ months or without age-labels increased, driven largely by quadrupling of finger-foods (predominantly sweet) between 2016 and 2021. The overall percentage of products classified as sweet increased from 65% (2016) to 73% (2019) and 77% (2021). Some finger-foods had high sugar content (up to 72 g/100 g), partly from fruit concentrate or sugar/syrup. Like other countries, the Icelandic CBF market has moved towards less availability of food intended in the first year and more availability of sweet finger-foods for an expanded consumer age. As sugar is added to some CBF, stronger regulations on promotion of foods for young consumers and updated recommendations for parents/caregivers may be needed.Peer reviewe

Development and Guiding Principles of the Icelandic Model for Preventing Adolescent Substance Use

Adolescent substance use—the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful drugs—remains a persistent global problem and has presented ongoing challenges for public health authorities and society. In response to the high rates of adolescent substance use during the 1990s, Iceland has pioneered in the development of the Icelandic Model for Primary Prevention of Substance Use—a theory-based approach that has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing substance use in Iceland over the past 20 years. In an effort to document our approach and inform potentially replicable practice-based processes for implementation in other country settings, we outline in a two-part series of articles the background and theory, guiding principles of the approach, and the core steps used in the successful implementation of the model. In this article, we describe the background context, theoretical orientation, and development of the approach and briefly review published evaluation findings. In addition, we present the five guiding principles that underlie the Icelandic Prevention Model’s approach to adolescent substance use prevention and discuss the accumulated evidence that supports effectiveness of the model. In a subsequent Part 2 article, we will identify and describe key processes and the 10 core steps of effective practice-based implementation of the model

Protein intake in children and growth and risk of overweight or obesity : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the evidence for an association between the dietary protein intake in children and the growth and risk of overweight or obesity up to 18 years of age in settings relevant for the Nordic countries. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus up to February 26, 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or prospective cohort studies assessing for protein intake from foods (total and from different sources) in children. The outcomes include weight, height/length, adiposity indices, and/or risk of overweight and/or obesity. The risk of bias was evaluated with instruments for each respective design (Cochrane’s Risk of Bias 2.0 and RoB-NObS). A meta-analysis of five cohort studies was performed. The evidence was classified according to the criteria of the World Cancer Research Fund. Results: The literature search resulted in 9,132 abstracts, of which 55 papers were identified as potentially relevant. In total, 21 studies from 27 publications were included, of which five were RCTs and 16 were cohort studies. The RCTs found generally null effects of high-protein intake in infants on weight gain, nor that lower protein diets negatively affected growth. All included RCTs had some concern regarding the risk of bias and were limited by small sample sizes. Total protein intake and BMI were assessed in 12 cohorts, of which 11 found positive associations. The meta-analysis revealed a pooled effect estimate of 0.06 (95% CI 0.03, 0.1) kg/m2 BMI per one E% increment in total protein (I2 = 15.5). Therefore, the evidence for a positive relationship between total protein intake and BMI was considered probable. Furthermore, there was probable evidence for an association between higher intake of animal protein and increased BMI. There was limited, suggestive evidence for an effect of total protein intake and higher risk of overweight and/or obesity, while no conclusions could be made on the associations between animal vs. plant protein intake and risk of overweight and/or obesity. Discussion: In healthy, well-nourished children of Western populations, there is probably a causal relationship between a high-protein intake in early childhood (≤ 18 months) – particularly protein of animal origin – and higher BMI later in childhood, with consistent findings across cohort studies. A lack of RCTs precluded a stronger grading of the evidence.Peer reviewe

Meat and meat product consumption among infants in Latvia

Publisher Copyright: © 2017 De Gruyter Open Ltd. All rights reserved.Meat consumption during the first year of life is especially important to provide necessary iron requirements. The aim of the study was to assess meat and meat product consumption of Latvian infants during their first year of life, in relation to different factors. Data were collected by interview method using two types of questionnaires: food frequency questionnaires and food diary. The study included a representative sample of infants and toddlers from all regions of Latvia with a target sample of 560 participants. The study included 266 infants: 127 girls, 139 boys, aged from 0 to 12 month. Data were summarised using the Excel software and analysed using the SPSS software. For data analysis two age groups were created: 0-5.9 months and 6-12 months. Consumption was analysed by two parameters: frequency and amount per feeding. Meat products were defined as offal products, sausages, and meat in baby food. Meat was mainly consumed after 6 months of age and by 73% of infants (n = 107). Meat from baby food was consumed only after 6 months and by 23% (n = 34). Sausages and offal products were consumed after 6 months of age. Sausages were consumed by 18% (n = 28) and offal products by 11% (n = 16) of infants. Meat consumption for the majority of infants was introduced after 6 months and was in accordance with recommendations.publishersversionPeer reviewe