[Cigarette smoking prevalence and associated factors in secondary school children in Catalunya]

Etapas de cambio comportamental frente al consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en escolares de 9 a 17 años de Bogotá D.C., Colombia

Introducción. El consumo de sustancias psicoactivas (SPA) es una problemática que afecta a estudiantes desde edades tempranas.Objetivo. Describir las etapas de cambio de comportamiento frente al consumo de SPA en escolares de Bogotá D.C., Colombia.Materiales y métodos. Estudio transversal en 6 965 escolares de Bogotá D.C. El cambio de comportamiento se evaluó por autoreporte a través de un cuestionario estructurado a partir del Modelo Transteórico en las etapas de precontemplación, contemplación, preparación y acción/mantenimiento.Resultados. 58.4% fueron mujeres con edad promedio de 12.7±2.3 años. Frente al consumo de drogas alucinógenas, 6% de los escolares se ubicaron en la categoría de precontemplación, 44% en contemplación, 30% en preparación y 20% en acción/mantenimiento. Respecto al consumo de alcohol, 5% se encontraban en precontemplación, 36% en contemplación, 12% en preparación y 46% en acción/mantenimiento. El tabaquismo mostró prevalencias de 4% para precontemplación, 33% para contemplación, 12% para preparación y 51% para acción/mantenimiento.Conclusiones. El consumo de SPA es una problemática que se presenta cada vez con mayor frecuencia en población escolar. La mayoría de entrevistados se ubican en etapa de mantenimiento en el consumo de tabaco y alcohol y en la etapa de contemplación de consumo de drogas alucinógenas. Se requieren esfuerzos gubernamentales que fomenten programas preventivos de consumo de SPA en el ámbito escolar.

[Smoking Prevalence in High School Students in the Barcelona Region (De Osona District)]

The socio-cultural setting influences youth smoking and its prevalence presumibly has decreased.

OBJECTIVES

To assess smoking prevalence in high school students, as well as the environmental influence on its onset in the Osona Disrtict of Barcelona (ODB), and to determine whether it has decreased.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on high school students in the ODB. In the anonymous questionnaire it was sked asked about smoking and the influence of the social and cultural setting on its onset.

RESULTS

A total of 842 students participated, with 714 questionnaires completed, of which 705 were included as valid. A total of 203 (93.5%) students lived in an urban setting. There were 159 smoker students and 62% were women. The smokers were 70 (44%) christians, 3 (1.9%) muslims, 14 (8.%) students with other religions, and 72 (45.3%) non-denominational students. It was detected that 529 (76.3%) of the students consumed alcohol consumers, and 308 (46.5%) consumed other substances. There were 40 (61%) students that suffered a disease, and also 334 students who had ill relatives. There were 207 (29.4%) fathers and 152 (22%) mothers who smoked and 214 (59%) students declared family smoking. Finally 582 (82.6%) had smoker friends. Among fathers, 212 (30.1%), had high level studies, 331 (48.7%) had mid- level studies, and 137 (20.1%) fathers had primary studies. Among mothers, it was 279 (39.6%), 294 (41.7%), and 116 (16.5%). respectively. Being a smoker was associated with alcohol (P=.000) and other substances consumption (P=.000), being non-denominational (P=.000), did not to suffer any disease (P=.043), with having mother (P=.001), father (P=.005), brother or sister (P=.006), and family members (P=.016) who smoked, and smoker friends (P=.000).

CONCLUSIONS

smoking prevalence in high school students in the ODB is high, but has decreased. Smoking was associated with alcohol and consumption of other substances, being non-denominational, and with friends, parents, and relatives who smoked. It is necessary to establish prevention programs addressed to teenagers, parents and teachers.

[Relationship between family functioning and lifestyle in school-age adolescents]

OBJECTIVE

Risk behaviors in adolescents can lead to serious disorders, therefore the objectives of this work are to characterize the lifestyles of teenagers about substance use, sex, and road safety, and to meet socio-demographic factors associated with these.

METHOD

A cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 204 school-age-children from 12 to 17 years, in 2013. They were given a validated questionnaire about sociodemographic, family functioning, and lifestyles such as substance abuse, sexual intercourse and road safety. A descriptive and multivariate analysis was performed by using multiple linear regression in the case of quantitative dependent variables, and binary logistic regression models in the case of binary categories. Data analysis was based on SPSS 20.0, with a significance level of p<0.05.

RESULTS

32.4% of students had smoked, and 61.3% had drunk alcohol. 26% of adolescent between 14-17 years had sexual intercourse; the average age of the first sexual intercourse was 14.9 years. 85.2% used condoms. 94.6% respected traffic signs, 77.5% used to wear a seat belt and 81.9% a helmet. Family functioning, as protective factor, was the variable more frequently associated to risk behaviour: smoking (OR=7.06, p=.000), alcohol drinking (OR=3.97, p=.008), sexual intercourse (OR=3.67, p=.041), and road safety (β=1.82, p=.000).

CONCLUSIONS

According the results, age, gender and family functioning are the main factors associated with the adoption of risk behaviors. This information is important for the development of public health policies, for instance health promotion at schools.

Relationship between Healthy Lifestyle and Sociodemographic Factors in Adolescents in Catalonia: Application of VISA-TEEN Questionnaire

Introduction

There is a clear relationship between the way of life and the health of individuals, and therefore, we can speak of healthy and unhealthy lifestyles. There are different surveys and questionnaires that evaluate the lifestyles of adolescents, but none of them offers a final score that can quantify the healthfulness of an adolescent’s lifestyle. It was with this goal that the VISA-TEEN questionnaire is developed and validated. The objective of this study is to apply the questionnaire to a sample of adolescents who attend school in Catalonia to evaluate the healthfulness of their lifestyles and to relate the scores obtained to different sociodemographic variables.

Methods

Cross-sectional study. A total of 2,832 students from 25 schools in Catalonia responded to the questionnaire. A descriptive analysis was performed, calculating the mean (Standard deviation), median (p₂₅, p₇₅), and confidence interval. The results were calculated for the total population, factoring according to gender, age, urban/rural population, origin (native/immigrant), and family wealth, which was based on the Family Affluence Scale (FAS II). The significance of the difference was calculated for each factor with the appropriate statistical test.

Results

For the total score of healthy lifestyle, the youngest students and those with the highest family wealth obtained higher scores. With respect to eating habits, girls scored higher than boys, and higher scores were observed in natives and those with high family wealth. For physical activity, boys scored higher, as well as younger individuals, natives, and those from rural areas. With respect to substance abuse, the worst scores were found in older individuals, students from rural areas, and natives. The rational use of leisure technology was only associated with age (worsening scores with older age). Lastly, hygiene was better with girls, decreased with age, and was worse with natives than immigrants.

Development and psychometric validation of a scoring questionnaire to assess healthy lifestyles among adolescents in Catalonia

Background

Lifestyle is intimately related to health. A questionnaire that specifically scores the healthiness of lifestyle of Catalan adolescents is needed. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a scoring questionnaire called VISA-TEEN to assess the healthy lifestyle of young Catalans that can be answered quickly and user-friendly.

Methods

A lifestyle questionnaire was developed based on the analysis of contributions from two focus groups, one with adolescents and the other with people who work with them (teachers and doctors). A panel of experts validated the content of items that were ultimately selected for the VISA-TEEN questionnaire. Three hundred ninety-six adolescents (215 boys and 181 girls, age = 13–19 years) completed the VISA-TEEN. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α) reliability coefficient. Test-retest reliability, using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), was calculated based on scores attained two weeks apart. Construct validity was assessed by the extraction of components with an exploratory factor analysis. The relationship between the scores was measured using the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) KIDSCREEN-10 Index (the relationship was assessed by calculating Pearson’s r correlation coefficient). The association of scores in the VISA-TEEN for self-rated health (SRH) was also examined by executing an analysis of variance (ANOVA) between the different categories of this variable. We also calculated the index of fit for factor scales (IFFS) for each component, as well as the discriminatory power of the instrument using Ferguson’s δ (delta) coefficient.

Results

The VISA-TEEN questionnaire showed acceptable reliability (α = 0.66, α_est = 0.77) and a very good test-retest agreement (ICC = 0.860). It could be broken down into the following five components, all with an acceptable or very good IFFS (0.7–0.96): diet, substance abuse, physical activity, Rational Use of Technological Leisure (RUTL), and hygiene. Scores on the VISA-TEEN showed significant correlation with the KIDSCREEN index (r = 0.21, p < 0.001) and were associated with SRH (p < 0.001). The discriminatory power was found to be δ = 0.97.

Conclusions

The VISA-TEEN questionnaire developed to study the lifestyle of Catalan adolescents is a valid instrument to apply in this population as it is shown in the present psychometric tests to understand the role of lifestyle in the health of teenagers or to test the efficacy of health campaigns intended to improve teenagers' lifestyle.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-2778-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Variables Associated with the Onset of Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescent Public Middle-School Students in Cartagena, Colombia

Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia y las variables asociadas al inicio del consumo de cigarrillo en adolescentes de media vocacional de Cartagena, Colombia. Materiales y método: estudio analítico observacional transversal con 1.100 estudiantes de básica secundaria de las instituciones educativas oficiales de la ciudad de Cartagena, matriculados durante el año 2012; la información se recolectó a través de la ficha demográfica, el inventario de consumo de cigarrillo y actitudes frente al mismo de la Encuesta Mundial Sobre Tabaquismo en jóvenes (Emta_Joven), la escala Apgar familiar, Rosenberg para autoestima y la escala de Zung de ansiedad. Se realizó análisis estadístico univariado, bivariado y multivariado. Resultados: participaron 1.090 estudiantes (de los 1.100 fueron descartados 10 por estar mal diligenciados) con edades entre 10 y 18 años, media = 12,3; 565 (51,8 %) estudiantes fueron de sexo masculino y 525 (48,2 %) de sexo femenino. El consumo de cigarrillo alguna vez en la vida se asoció a edades entre 13 y 18 años (OR = 2,86; IC95 %: 1,96-4,18), ser de sexo masculino (OR = 2,40; IC95 %: 1,63-3,56) y a alta intención de consumo de sustancias (cigarrillo, alcohol y marihuana) (OR = 3,18; IC95 %: 2,18-4,64). Conclusión: el consumo de cigarrillo alguna vez en la vida en estudiantes de media vocacional de Cartagena, Colombia, se asoció a tener alta intención de consumo de sustancias, ser adolescente y ser de sexo masculino.