Condutas de risco à saúde e indicadores de estresse psicossocial em adolescentes estudantes do Ensino Médio

Suicide ideation and psychotropic recreational drug use by adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Adolescence is characterized by complex and dynamic changes, often involving experimentation, including the use of psychotropic substances. Although it is well-established that recreational psychotropic drugs are associated with suicide ideation in adults, evidence of this association in adolescents remains limited.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between suicide ideation and psychotropic recreational drug use among adolescents.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Systematic review with meta-analysis developed at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) and Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil.

METHODS

A search across eight electronic databases for observational studies, without language or publication year restrictions, was conducted. The Joanna Briggs Institute tool was used to assess the risk of bias. Random-effects meta-analyses and odds ratios were used to measure the effects.

RESULTS

The search yielded 19,732 studies, of which 78 were included in the qualitative synthesis and 32 in the meta-analysis. The findings indicated that suicidal ideation was 1.96 times more likely (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.47; 2.61) for adolescents who used some drug recurrently and 3.32 times more likely (95%CI = 1.86; 5.93) among those who abused drugs. Additionally, adolescents who used cannabis were 1.57 times more likely (95%CI = 1.34; 1.84) to experience suicide ideation compared with non-users, while cocaine users had 2.57 times higher odds (95%CI = 1.47; 4.50).

CONCLUSIONS

Psychotropic recreational drug use is associated with suicidal ideation among adolescents regardless of current or previous use, abuse, or type of substance used.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

Registered in the PROSPERO database under the identification number CRD42021232360. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021232360.

Stress and health risk behaviors among university students

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the level of stress and its relationship with health risk behaviors among university students.

METHOD

Cross-sectional analytical study carried out at a higher education institution in Picos-PI. A total of 377 students were evaluated for socio-demographic and academic variables, stress profile, sleep quality, alcohol use, smoking habits and level of physical activity. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0 was used for data processing and analysis.

RESULTS

Sleep quality was poor for 65.3% of the subjects, and sleep disturbances were found in 17.0%. Stress was observed in 68.7% of the sample. Stress was associated with the following variables: gender, time in the institution, poor sleep quality.

CONCLUSION

Most of the students evaluated present some level of stress associated with poor sleep quality, which is a risk to the quality of life of these individuals.

Self-esteem and oral health behavior in adolescents

This study investigated the mediation of self-esteem in adolescents' oral health behaviors. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to assess self-esteem, whereas data from socio-demographic and behavior characteristics were analyzed by questions validated in previous surveys. The teenagers had good oral health behavior, except unhealthy diet. The number of adolescents with high self-esteem was a lot smaller than those with low self-esteem. The use of dental services, even when associated with high self-esteem, lost significance after being adjusted by sex, age and tooth brushing frequency. Nevertheless, multiple logistic regression analysis, using unadjusted estimates and adjusted with their respective Confidence Intervals of 95%, showed a relationship of self-esteem with age (p-value=0.001) and tooth brushing frequency (p-value=0.019). Regardless of the sex, students over 16 years old with high self-esteem brush their teeth more often, having probably better oral health. These results confirm the modulation of self-esteem in oral health, and then it is necessary the analysis and the use of these psychosocial factors in the young oral health care.

Influence of parental smoking on the use of alcohol and illicit drugs among adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between parental smoking and the use of alcohol and illicit drugs among adolescent children.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study with 6,264 adolescents (59.7% female) aged between 14 and 19 years. To establish the sample, we used two-stage cluster random sampling. The data on parental smoking and use of cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs among adolescents were collected using a questionnaire.

RESULTS

Smoking adolescents were more prone to use alcohol (odds ratio - OR: 10.35; 95%CI: 7.85-13.65) and illicit drugs (OR: 11.75; 95%CI: 9.04-15.26) than non-smokers (p<0.001). Adolescents with at least one parent (OR: 1.4; 95%CI: 1.13-1.89) or both parents smoking (OR: 1.6; 95%CI: 1.01-2.67) were more likely to smoke when compared to those having no parents smoking. The adjusted analysis limited to non-smoking adolescents showed a positive association (p<0.05) between parental tobacco use and the use of alcohol (OR: 1.4; 95%CI: 1.23-1.62) and illicit drugs (OR: 1.6; 95%CI: 1.24-2.13), irrespective of age, sex, maternal schooling and place of residence.

CONCLUSION

Parental smoking was associated with the use of alcohol and other illicit drugs by adolescents, even among nonsmokers.

REAC neuromodulation treatments in subjects with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship in the Brazilian state of Pará: a family observational pilot study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this preliminary observational study was to evaluate the usefulness of a humanitarian initiative, aimed at improving the neuropsychological and behavioral attitude of children with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship, in the Brazilian state of Pará. This humanitarian initiative was realized through the administration of two neuromodulation protocols, with radioelectric asymmetric conveyor (REAC) technology. During several years of clinical use, the REAC neuromodulation protocols have already proved to be effective in countering the effects of environmental stress on neuropsycho-physical functions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

After the preliminary medical examination, all subjects were investigated with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), including the impact supplement with teacher's report. After the SDQ, they received the neuromodulation treatment with REAC technology named neuro postural optimization (NPO), to evaluate their responsiveness. Subsequently, every 3 months all subjects underwent a treatment cycle of neuropsycho-physical optimization (NPPO) with REAC technology, for a total of three cycles. At the end of the last REAC-NPPO treatment cycle, all subjects were investigated once again with the SDQ. For the adequacy of the data, the Wilcoxon and the Signs tests were used. For the subdivision into clusters, the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied for the adequacy of the procedure. For all the applied tests, a statistical significance of p<0.5 was found.

RESULTS

The results showed that the REAC-NPO and REAC-NPPO neuromodulation protocols are able to improve the quality of life, the scholastic and socialization skills, and the overall state of physical and mental health in children of a family with severe socioeconomic and cultural hardship.

CONCLUSION

The REAC-NPO and REAC-NPPO neuromodulation protocols, due to their non-invasive characteristics, painlessness, and speed of administration, can be hypothesized as a treatment to improve the overall state of physical and mental health in a large number of people with socioeconomic and cultural discomfort.

Binge drinking and illicit drug use among adolescent students

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of illicit drug use and its association with binge drinking and sociodemographic factors among adolescent students.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study with probabilistic conglomerate sampling, involving 1,154 students, aged 13 to 19 years old, from the public school system, in the city of Olinda, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, carried out in 2014. We used the Youth Risk Behavior Survey questionnaire, validated for use with Brazilian adolescents. The Chi-square test (≤ 0.05) and Poisson regression analysis were used to estimate the prevalence ratios, with 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Use in life of illicit drugs was four times more prevalent among students who reported binge drinking (95%CI 3.19-5.45). Being in the age group of 16 to 19 years, being male, and having no religion were also significantly associated with illicit drug use.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of use in life of illicit drugs was higher in this study than in other studies carried out in Brazil and it was strongly associated with binge drinking. This factor was associated with gender, age, and religion.

OBJETIVO

Estimar a prevalência do uso de drogas ilícitas e sua associação com binge drinking e fatores sociodemográficos entre estudantes adolescentes.

MÉTODOS

Estudo transversal com amostra probabilística por conglomerado, envolvendo 1.154 estudantes, de 13 a 19 anos de idade, da rede pública de ensino, no município de Olinda, PE, 2014. Foi utilizado o questionário Youth Risk Behavior Survey, validado para uso com adolescentes brasileiros. Para análise dos dados foi utilizado o teste do Qui-quadrado (≤ 0,05) e análise de regressão de Poisson, para estimar razões de prevalência, com intervalos com 95% de confiança.

RESULTADOS

O uso na vida de drogas ilícitas foi quatro vezes mais prevalente entre os estudantes que relataram o binge drinking (IC95% 3,19-5,45). Estar na faixa etária de 16 a 19 anos, ser do sexo masculino e não ter religião também foram significativamente associados ao uso de drogas ilícitas.

CONCLUSÕES

A prevalência do uso de drogas ilícitas na vida foi superior a outros estudos realizados no Brasil e esteve fortemente associado ao binge drinking. Esse fator mostrou associação com gênero, idade e religião.

The direct and indirect effect of loneliness on the development of adolescent alcohol use in the United Kingdom

Alcohol use among adolescents in the United Kingdom (UK) remains relatively high compared to those in other European countries. The present study sought to examine both the direct and indirect effect of loneliness on drinking behavior. Participants were school children (mean age 13.5 years at Time 1) participating in a Randomized Controlled Trial in the UK, who completed a battery of questionnaires examining alcohol-use indicators, loneliness, self-efficacy and sensation seeking at Time 1 and at +12 months. Loneliness at Time 1 had a substantive, though largely indirect (i.e., via self-efficacy and sensation seeking covariates), impact on alcohol-related harm at +12 months. Furthermore, Loneliness interacted with gender in the prediction of context of alcohol use, where being female and experiencing loneliness put an individual at a greater risk of unsupervised drinking. Females experiencing loneliness were also 2.9 times as likely to have had a drink in the past 30 days, and around 2.5 times as likely to have ever consumed a full drink, when compared to their male peers. The current results indicate that loneliness is an important but complex factor in adolescent drinking. There are important implications for the development of interventions to prevent underage drinking, not least that it is not appropriate to consider all underage drinkers as socially marginalised. However, for those that are, the self-medication hypothesis is potentially relevant through emotional self-efficacy.

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Data were gathered on loneliness, self-efficacy, sensation seeking and alcohol use.

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Loneliness at Time 1 had an indirect impact on alcohol-related harm at + 12 months.

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Loneliness interacted with gender in the prediction of context of alcohol use.

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Being female and experiencing loneliness put an individual at a greater risk of unsupervised drinking.

[Psychosocial stressors, sense of community, and subjective wellbeing in children and adolescents in urban and rural areas in Northeast Brazil]

The study's overall objective was to investigate the relationship between psychosocial stressors, sense of community, and subjective wellbeing in urban and rural schoolchildren in Northeast Brazil, focusing on differences according to territorial context. The sample consisted of 757 participants, 495 from urban schools and 262 from rural schools, enrolled in the 6th and 7th grades (9 to 18 years of age) in 21 municipal and state public schools, of which 13 urban and 8 rural, in 7 municipalities (counties) in Ceará State, Brazil. The study instruments were inventory of stressful events, scale of life satisfaction for students, index of sense of community, and satisfaction indices by life domains (family, material goods, relations, neighborhood/zone, health, time, school, and personal). The results indicate that socioeconomically underprivileged public schoolchildren from urban areas are more exposed to daily stress and score lower on satisfaction in specific domains of life and on sense of community. This latter is an important indicator for evaluating wellbeing in this young population.

Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in adolescents and association with computer and videogame use

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms in high school adolescents from public schools and its association with electronic device use.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 961 boys and girls aged 14-19 years who answered a questionnaire regarding the use of computers and electronic games, and questions about pain symptoms and physical activity. Furthermore, anthropometric assessments of all volunteers were performed. The chi-squared test and a multiple logistic regression model were used for the inferential analysis.

RESULTS

The presence of musculoskeletal pain symptoms was reported by 65.1% of the adolescents, being more prevalent in the thoracolumbar spine (46.9%), followed by pain in the upper limbs, representing 20% of complaints. The mean time of use for computers and electronic games was 1.720 and 583 minutes per week, respectively. The excessive use of electronic devices was demonstrated to be a risk factor for cervical and lumbar pain. Female gender was associated with the presence of pain in different body parts. Presence of a paid job was associated with cervical pain.

CONCLUSION

A high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in adolescents, as well as an increased amount of time using digital devices was observed. However, it was only possible to observe an association between the increased use of these devices and the presence of cervical and low back pain.

HEALTH RISK BEHAVIOR OF ADOLESCENT SCHOLARS

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to describe health risk behaviors among adolescents from secondary education in public schools in a city in Brazilian Northeast. Epidemiological cross-sectional, population-based study with a simple random sample. For the data, we used structured validated questionnaires. For data analysis, we used the chi-square Pearson test, with significance level of 5%. It has been found that physical inactivity is associated with the sex, age and studying shift. Tobacco consumption is significantly associated with sex, age, shift studying and alcohol consumption shift to studying, and age. As for poor dietary habits, consumption of fried foods is associated with shift in studying and sweets and sodas to shift on studying and age. Found a high prevalence of risk behaviors among adolescents, focused on policies needed health of this population.

Being lonely or using substances with friends? A cross-sectional study of Hungarian adolescents' health risk behaviours

BACKGROUND

Studying adolescents' health risk behaviours is oddly significant in Central and Eastern European countries, where the prevalence of smoking and drinking among 14-18 year old students is significantly high. The goal of our study is to examine the role of social psychological and social behavioural variables in health risk behaviours among Hungarian adolescents.

METHODS

Our sample was comprised of three high schools of Debrecen (the second largest city of Hungary). In all, 501 students filled in the questionnaire from 22 classes (14-22 years old). Students aged above 18 years were excluded for the purpose of the study, giving a total sample size of 471 high school students. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

According to our results (1) social behavioural factors (namely, smoking and alcohol use of the best friend and peer group) proved to be better predictors of adolescents' health risk behaviours as compared to the included social psychological attributes (2); among the latter ones, loneliness and shyness were negatively related with both smoking and drinking, while competitiveness was a predictor of drinking prevalence among boys.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that social behavioural factors, including smoking and drinking of friends, are oddly important predictors of Hungarian adolescents' health risk behaviours. According to our results, health policy should pay more attention to peer norms related to smoking and drinking during school health promotion. Developing health protective social norms may be an indispensable component of effective health promotion in high schools.

Relação entre violência física, consumo de álcool e outras drogas e bullying entre adolescentes escolares brasileiros

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar a associação entre o consumo de álcool e outras drogas e o bullying com o envolvimento em situações de violência física entre adolescentes de 13 a 15 anos, em escolas públicas e privadas das capitais brasileiras e do Distrito Federal. Foram analisados os dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE) de 2009. Para análise dos dados foi utilizada a regressão logística. A prevalência de envolvimento em situações de violência física foi 12,9% maior no sexo masculino. Em ambos os sexos, foram observadas associações entre violência física e ser vítima de bullying com o uso de drogas ilícitas e efeito potencializado do consumo de álcool e drogas. Para o sexo masculino, o uso de álcool mostrou associação significante com violência física. Morar o pai ou ambos os genitores na residência apresentou associação inversa para violência física no sexo feminino. O conhecimento de fatores associados à violência física entre adolescentes é importante para auxiliar estratégias de promoção da saúde e da cultura de paz, rompendo com a ideia de que a violência entre adolescentes é algo banal e esperado.

Distribution and molecular characterization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in patients with chronic infection from Pernambuco State, Brazil

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a public health problem throughout the world and 3% of the world population is infected with this virus. It is estimated that 3-4 millions individuals are being infected every year. It has been estimated that around 1.5% of Brazilian population is anti-HCV positive and the Northeast region showed the highest prevalence in Brazil. The aim of this study was to characterize HCV genotypes circulating in Pernambuco State (PE), Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. This study included 85 anti-HCV positive patients followed up between 2004 and 2011. For genotyping, a 380bp fragment of HCV RNA in the NS5B region was amplified by nested PCR. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation (MCMC) using BEAST v.1.5.3. From 85 samples, 63 (74.1%) positive to NS5B fragment were successfully sequenced. Subtype 1b was the most prevalent in this population (42-66.7%), followed by 3a (16-25.4%), 1a (4-6.3%) and 2b (1-1.6%). Twelve (63.1%) and seven (36.9%) patients with HCV and schistosomiasis were infected with subtypes 1b and 3a, respectively. Brazil is a large country with many different population backgrounds; a large variation in the frequencies of HCV genotypes is predictable throughout its territory. This study reports HCV genotypes from Pernambuco State where subtype 1b was found to be the most prevalent. Phylogenetic analysis suggests the presence of the different HCV strains circulating within this population.