Job strain is prospectively associated with a lower frequency of fruit consumption in schoolteachers

[Effects of parliamentary amendments on municipal financing of primary health care in the Brazilian Unified National Health System]

This study aims to analyze the effects of the expansion of the federal transfer of parliamentary amendments for municipal financing of primary health care (PHC) in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS), from 2015 to 2020. A longitudinal study was conducted using secondary data on transfers of parliamentary amendments from the Brazilian Ministry of Health and expenditure of municipalities' own resources on public health actions and services and PHC. The effect of the transfer of parliamentary amendments on municipal financing was verified in a stratified way by population size of the municipalities, using generalized estimating equation models. The transfer of parliamentary amendments for PHC showed a large discrepancy in per capita values among municipalities of different population sizes. No correlation with municipal spending on public health actions and services was observed in municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, and the association with spending on PHC (p < 0.050) was inverse in all municipalities. Therefore, the increase in the transfer of parliamentary amendments by the Brazilian Ministry of Health favored a reduction in the allocation of municipal revenues to PHC, which may have been directed to other spending purposes in the SUS. These changes seem to represent priorities established for municipal budget expenditure, which have repercussions on local conditions for guaranteeing stable funding for PHC in Brazil.

Association between long working hours and diet quality and patterns: A latent profile analysis of a nationally representative sample of Korean workers

BACKGROUND

Long working hours are associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This study investigated the relationship between the working hours and dietary qualities and patterns in Korean workers.

METHODS

Data from 24,523 workers were extracted from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2021. The Korean Healthy Eating Index (KHEI), which ranges from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating greater adherence to Korean dietary guidelines and superior dietary quality, was used for dietary assessment. We identified dietary patterns and classified workers using latent profile analysis. Logistic regressions were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Five distinct dietary patterns emerged: healthy diet (24.8%), low-vegetable diet (14.0%), average diet (7.8%), low-fruit diet (31.4%), and poor diet (22.0%). The mean KHEI score was 60.8, with the highest score observed in the healthy diet pattern (71.3) and the lowest, in the poor diet pattern (50.0). Compared with working 35-40 h/week, working ≥55 h/week was negatively associated with KHEI scores (β: -1.08; 95% CI: -1.67, -0.49). Those working ≥55 h/week were less likely to have a healthy diet pattern (OR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.91) and more likely to have a low-fruit diet (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.55) or poor diet pattern (OR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.43) compared with those working 35-40 h/week.

CONCLUSION

Long working hours are associated with undesirable dietary quality and patterns. Policy interventions aimed at enhancing dietary quality are needed to alleviate the health burdens associated with long working hours.

Association between self-reported food intake and subjective sleep quality among truck drivers in a city in Southern Brazil

Introduction

Sleep is an activity of great importance for maintaining the homeostasis of the human body and some components may interfere with the quality of sleep, including the pattern of food consumption. Truck drivers may constitute a population particularly sensitive to this association, since they are routinely exposed to situations that may interfere with food intake and sleep quality. Thus, this study investigated the association between self-reported food intake and sleep quality in truck drivers.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study, with drivers who traveled in a city in southern Brazil. Food intake was evaluated through the average of food intake over the last 30 days. Food intake was evaluated in two forms: division in food groups and evaluation only tryptophan-rich foods. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). In addition to the descriptive analysis, to identify possible associations between food intake and sleep quality, linear regression, crude and adjusted for confounding variables, were performed to obtain the Beta and Beta adjusted (Betaadj), respectively, and p-value.

Results

A total of 352 truck drivers, mostly males, mean age 48.4 (±11.6) years, with a frequent consumption of meat, fruits, vegetables, sweets, and energy drinks participated in this study. The frequent consumption of dairy products (Betaadj: --0.614. p-value 0.004) and fruits (Betaadj: --0.342. p-value 0.034) was associated with lower PSQI score, while the consumption of energy drinks was associated with a higher PSQI score (Betaadj: 0.923. p-value <0.001). The frequency of consumption of tryptophan-rich foods was not associated with sleep quality.

Conclusion

Fruits and dairy products are associated with better subjective sleep quality, while energy drinks are associated with worse sleep quality in truck drivers, whereas dietary tryptophan-rich foods intake was not associated with sleep quality.

Relationship between personality traits and health behavior among working women in Japan

Considering personality traits is effective for cultivating health promotion habits. Therefore, individualized interventions that account for personality traits would be more beneficial for modifying health behaviors. The present study describes the relationship between personality traits and health behaviors among working women compared with non-working women in Japan. Secondary analysis was conducted using nationally representative data from the Japanese Household Panel Survey (JHPS/KHPS). In the 2019 wave, data were gathered from 1,141 women (939 who were working and 202 who were not) between the ages of 28 and 65. Associations among health behaviors, personality traits, and employment status were confirmed by phi coefficient and coefficient ratio. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between health behaviors and personality traits. As for working women, daily fruit consumption was associated with extraversion (odds ratio [OR], 1.197; p = 0.003) and conscientiousness (OR, 1.238; p = 0.032). Conscientiousness has been found to significantly contribute to low-risk alcohol consumption (OR, 1.213; p = 0.035). Desirable physical activity habit was associated with extraversion (OR, 1.312; p = 0.000). In contrast, among non-working women, desirable physical activity habits was associated with extraversion (OR, 1.573; p = 0.007) and neuroticism (OR, 0.390; p = 0.001). Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying differences between working women and non-working women in the association between health behaviors and personality.