Health Risk Behaviors Research Articles

The Necessary Components for Evaluating Return-to-Work in Depressive Workers: A Modified Delphi Technique

Background: Mental health issues in the workplace can have adverse effects on productivity. Among the various mental disorders, depression is the most observed problem. That being stated, the return to work (RTW) rates for depressive workers are lower than other disabling conditions. The present study was due to the absence of guidelines regarding RTW assessments for depressive workers in occupational medicine. Objective: To determine the necessary components for evaluating RTW in depressive workers. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two occupational medicine and psychiatry experts deployed a modified Delphi study. The study was conducted in four steps, expert selection, comprehensive literature review, and administration of a two-round questionnaire to assess the level of agreement among participants. A second-round questionnaire was used to determine the degree of consensus. Results: Twenty experts responded to the first-round questionnaire, agreed on 15 components, and suggested four additional components. In the second-round questionnaire, 14 components consisted of distress, depress mood, anxiety, suicidal ideation, executive function, attention, social awareness, learning and memory, language, health-risk behavior, self-efficacy, psychiatric medication, communication with supervisor, and job stress. Twenty tools met the consensus criteria. A depressed mood and suicidal ideation were the most consensus components from experts. Conclusion: The assessment of RTW in workers with depression requires considering 14 components; however, developing guidelines and appropriate tools for evaluating these components requires further investigation and study.

Trends in Health-Risk Behaviors and Psychological Distress among Australian First-Year University Students.

University students are recognized as a high-risk population group who experience greater rates of poor health outcomes and mental ill-health. Commencing university is recognized as a major life transition, where students experience new financial, academic, environmental, and social pressures that can cause changes in their normal behaviors. This study explored trends in health-risk behaviors and psychological distress in commencing university students over four survey years. First-year undergraduate students, aged 17-24, from an Australian university were included. A secondary analysis was performed on data collected via cross-sectional surveys on four occasions (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020). Crude logistic regression models were utilized to investigate the association between meeting guidelines and survey year. Odds ratios for the pairwise comparison between each year are reported. In this analysis, 1300 (2016), 484 (2017), 456 (2019), and 571 (2020) students were included. Analyses showed two clear trends: students' probability of being at high/very high risk of psychological distress (35-55%) and consuming breakfast daily (44-55%) consistently worsened over the four survey years. These findings suggest that the odds of psychological distress and daily breakfast consumption worsened over time, whilst the proportion of students engaging in some health-risk behaviors was high, highlighting the importance of early intervention during the transition to university.

Dementia Risk Awareness, Health Behaviors and Motivation for Dementia Prevention in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Türkiye.

This study aimed to investigate factors influencing motivation for dementia preventive behaviors in a population aged 40 and over. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study between December 2022 and May 2023, involving 483 participants in an online survey. We collected data on dementia risk awareness, healthy lifestyle choices, and motivation for dementia risk reduction. The majority of respondents, comprising 41.6%, demonstrated a moderate level of risk awareness, with 50.5% believing that prevention is beyond anyone's control. Motivations for lifestyle change were significantly higher in women (p < .001) and `participants with university degree education (p < .05). Regression analysis identified gender (female), education level (higher education), and dementia risk awareness, emerged as significant predictors of motivation to change lifestyle (beta: .138, beta: .136, beta: .114, p < .001, respectively). This study underscores the importance of risk awareness in motivating dementia prevention, suggesting avenues for future research to explore specific determinants of motivation to reduce dementia risks.

Prevalence and Correlates of Health Risk Behaviors among University Students from a State in the Southern Region of Brazil.

Surveys conducted in different regions of the world show that the prevalence rates of health risk behaviors (HRBs) in university students are sometimes higher than those found in non-university populations. This study aims to identify the prevalence rates and demographic and academic environment correlates associated with HRBs among Brazilian university students. In a cross-sectional epidemiological study, a random sample of 5310 university students answered an online questionnaire, with demographic (sex, age, skin color, marital status, and paid work) and academic setting information (housing type, size of campus, year, and shift of study), as well as items clustered in four HRB domains: personal safety and violence, sexual behavior and contraception, addictive substance use, eating habits, physical activity, and sleep. The data were analyzed statistically using bivariate analysis and hierarchical multiple regression. The highest prevalence rates occurred in HRBs clustered in the domain of eating habits, physical activity, and sleep (>60%), while HRBs for personal security and violence were less prevalent (<15%). From 15% to 35% of university students assumed HRBs regarding addictive substance use, and approximately 50% reported risky sexual behavior. The university students most susceptible to HRBs were men, aged ≥ 22 years, living far from their family, studying on larger campuses, attending night classes, and with two or more years of study at the university. The findings suggest that policies and interventions in the university context aimed at students' readiness to engage in a healthy lifestyle should target specific correlates associated with HRBs.

Youth Health Risk Behavior Assessment among University Students in Baghdad, Iraq

INTRODUCTION: Health risk behavior is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. The social and economic costs associated with these behaviors can be reduced by changes in individuals&amp;rsquo; behavior. Health-related behavior can either enhance or damage physical, psychological and social wellbeing. Human behavior is influenced by an individual&amp;rsquo;s health consciousness. OBJECTIVE is to study health related behavior that includes dietary habits, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption, screen time and behavior related to unintentional injury among students attending public universities in Baghdad. METHODS: Study design is Cross Sectional Study; sampling method is multi-stage Cluster sampling. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect student data, a total of 1836 students participated in the study RESULTS: Among the 1836 students who participated in the study, 21.4% are smokers, only 3.4% use seatbelts while driving, 11% took medicine without prescription and 78% did not perform regular exercise. 85% of students use the internet at least three hours per day. Dietary habits of students were average based on diet recommendation. CONCLUSION: Health related behavior traits were average among university students in Baghdad. Policy changes to reinforce stringent road traffic safety measures and initiate regular health promotion programs in universities to motivate students to be more proactive towards their health and fitness.

An mHealth Intervention for Gay and Bisexual Men's Mental, Behavioral, and Sexual Health in a High-Stigma, Low-Resource Context (Project Comunică): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The World Health Organization reported that 80% of new HIV diagnoses in Europe in 2014 occurred in Central and Eastern Europe. Romania has a particularly high HIV incidence, AIDS prevalence, and number of related deaths. HIV incidence in Romania is largely attributed to sexual contact among gay and bisexual men. However, homophobic stigma in Romania serves as a risk factor for HIV infection for gay and bisexual men. The Comunică intervention aims to provide a much-needed HIV risk reduction strategy, and it entails the delivery of motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy skills across 8 live text-based counseling sessions on a mobile platform to gay and bisexual men at risk of HIV. The intervention is based on the information-motivation-behavior and minority stress models. There is preliminary evidence suggesting that Comunică holds promise for reducing gay and bisexual men's co-occurring sexual (eg, HIV transmission risk behavior), behavioral (eg, heavy alcohol use), and mental (eg, depression) health risks in Romania. This paper describes the protocol for a randomized controlled trial designed to test the efficacy of Comunică in a national trial. To test Comunică's efficacy, 305 gay and bisexual men were randomized to receive Comunică or a content-matched education attention control condition. The control condition consisted of 8 time-matched educational modules that present information regarding gay and bisexual men's identity development, information about HIV transmission and prevention, the importance of HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, heavy alcohol use and its associations with HIV transmission risk behavior, sexual health communication, finding social support, and creating sexual health goals. Participants undergo rapid HIV and syphilis testing and 3-site chlamydia and gonorrhea testing at baseline and the 12-month follow-up. Outcomes are measured before the intervention (baseline) and at the 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-ups. The study was funded in September 2018, and data collection began in May 2019. The last participant follow-up was in January 2024. Currently, the data analyst is cleaning data sets in preparation for data analyses, which are scheduled to begin in April 2024. Data analysis meetings are scheduled regularly to establish timelines and examine the results as analyses are gradually being conducted. Upon completion, a list of manuscripts will be reviewed and prioritized, and the team will begin preparing them for publication. This study is the first to test the efficacy of an intervention with the potential to simultaneously support the sexual, behavioral, and mental health of gay and bisexual men in Central and Eastern Europe using motivational interviewing support and sensitivity to the high-stigma context of the region. If efficacious, Comunică presents a scalable platform to provide support to gay and bisexual men living in Romania and similar high-stigma, low-resource countries. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03912753; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03912753. DERR1-10.2196/52853.

Associations between day-level affect profiles and same-day substance use among young adults.

Emotions play a critical role in health risk behaviors, including substance use. However, current research often focuses exclusively on average levels of positive and negative affect, neglecting the complexity of daily emotional patterns. By capturing multiple dimensions of affect, including arousal and discrete states, we can improve our understanding of proximal predictors of substance use. The present study demonstrates the utility of a novel methodological approach for assessing affect patterns in daily life in relation to alcohol and cannabis use. Daily diary data from N = 154 young adults who reported recent heavy episodic drinking and simultaneous use of alcohol and cannabis were analyzed using a mixed-indicator latent profile analysis to identify and describe day-level affective patterns and outcomes. Results revealed five distinct day-level profiles of affect: undifferentiated negative affect days, undifferentiated positive affect days, high-arousal positive affect days, mixed affect days, and low reactivity days. Undifferentiated positive affect days, high-arousal positive affect days, and low reactivity days were associated with significantly greater odds of same-day alcohol use compared to days characterized by undifferentiated negative affect (χ² = 10.55, p = .032). Findings suggest that daily affect patterns differentially impact alcohol use and can inform the development of interventions for problematic substance use. Additionally, the innovative methodological approach employed herein could be applicable for investigating the role of emotion in other health behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention in Youth: Long-term Follow-up of a Randomized Controlled Trial

This preregistered study compared the effects of the Transdiagnostic Sleep and Circadian Intervention (TranS-C) with psychoeducation (PE) about sleep, health, yoga, meditation, and outdoor appreciation activities on sleep and circadian functioning, health risk, and sleep health behaviors at long-term follow-up (LTFU), an average of 8 years following treatment. We also examined if more sleep health behaviors at LTFU were associated with better sleep and circadian functioning at LTFU and if better sleep and circadian functioning were associated with lower health risk at LTFU. At baseline, we randomly assigned adolescents with an eveningness chronotype to TranS-C (n= 89) or PE (n= 87). Of this sample, we assessed 106 young adults (mean age at follow-up= 22.5 years; n= 55 from TranS-C; n= 51 from PE) an average of 8 years following treatment. Despite TranS-C (vs PE) sustaining improvement in circadian functioning through 12-month follow-up, at LTFU, there were no significant differences between the conditions on any outcome, including sleep and circadian functioning, risks in 5 health domains indexed by self-report and ecological momentary assessment, sleep health behaviors, and physical measurements. Across both conditions, measures indicating poorer sleep and circadian functioning were associated with higher health risk across multiple domains, and more sleep health behaviors were associated with lower levels of eveningness at LTFU. These results provide an important window into the influence of development on long-term outcomes for youth and raise the possibility that interventions for youth could be enhanced with a focus on habit formation. Maintaining Behavior Change: A 6-Year Follow-up of Adolescent 'Night-owls'; https://www. gov/; NCT05098782. Long-term Follow-up of Young Adults Who Received TranS-C to Modify Eveningness Chronotype in Adolescence; https://osf.io/; d5a4g. We worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way. We worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as living with a disability. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science.

Mobbing as a Predictor of Health Risk Behaviours and Seeking Specialist Support in Non-university Teachers

Mobbing as a Predictor of Health Risk Behaviours and Seeking Specialist Support in Non-university Teachers

Systemic inflammation, lifestyle behaviours and dementia: A 10-year follow-up investigation

ObjectivesLifestyle behaviours have been linked to dementia incidence, but their cumulative impact on dementia and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study investigated the association of co-occurring lifestyle behaviours with dementia incidence and the mediating role of systemic inflammation in this association. MethodsThe sample comprised 3131 participants (55.2% female) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing aged 52–92 years at baseline (2008/09). Self-reported baseline lifestyle behaviours (alcohol intake, fruit and vegetable consumption, smoking, physical activity, sleep duration, social engagement, and cognitive activity) were summed to derive an index of lifestyle behaviours, ranging from 0 to 7, with higher scores denoting a higher number of health-risk behaviours. Incident dementia cases (n = 130, 4.2%) were identified through doctor-diagnosed dementia, informant interviews, and health records between 2014/15 and 2018/19. Systemic inflammation was measured through fasting plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein in 2012/13. ResultsBinary logistic regression models indicated that the odds of subsequent dementia increased by 1.19 for each additional health-risk behaviour (95% confidence intervals: 1.04, 1.37, p = 0.014) after adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, wealth, education, marital status, body mass index, coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and depression. However, this association was not mediated by C-reactive protein. ConclusionsCo-occurring health-risk behaviours were associated with higher dementia incidence up to 10 years later, underscoring the importance of modifying health-risk behaviours for the prevention of dementia. Systemic inflammation did not explain the association between behaviours and dementia.

Breathing life into social emotional learning programs: A Bio-Psycho-Social approach to risk reduction and positive youth development.

Over one-third of USadolescents engage in health risk and problem behaviors. Additionally, significant percentages of problem-free youth aren't flourishing. Left unaddressed, the lifetime mental/physical health and financial burdens may be substantial. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs have proliferated to address the drivers of adaptive versus risk behaviors. Research suggests SEL/PYD program outcomes can be improved by adding techniques that physiologically induce calmness, yet few studies exist. This randomized controlled trial of 79 urban eighth-graders examined a standardized bio-psycho-social program, SKY Schools, which incorporates a physiologically calming component: controlled yogic breathing. Repeated-measures ANOVAs demonstrated that compared to controls, SKY graduates exhibited significant improvements in emotion regulation, planning and concentration, and distractibility. After 3 months, significant improvements were evidenced in emotion regulation, planning and concentration, identity formation, and aggressive normative beliefs. SEL/PYD programs may benefit by incorporating biologically-calming techniques to enhance well-being and prevent risk/problem behaviors.

Association of impulsive behavior and cerebrospinal fluid/plasma oxidation and antioxidation ratio in Chinese men

ObjectivesImpulsive behavior is the precursor of many psychiatric and neurological conditions. High levels of impulsive behavior will increase health risk behavior and related injuries. Impulsive behavior is produced and regulated by central and peripheral biological factors, and oxidative stress (OS) can aggravate it. However, previous studies only showed that impulsive behavior was related to the level of the peripheral OS. Therefore, this study aims to clarify the relationship between OS and impulsive behavior in the brain and peripheral blood. MethodsWe recruited 64 Chinese men. We measured superoxide dismutase (SOD) (including copper, zinc and manganese) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (including total, inducible and constitutive) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11 (BIS-11) was used to evaluate impulsive behavior. The relationship between OS and impulsive behavior was evaluated by partial correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis. ResultsPartial correlation analysis showed that the ratio of total NOS-to-MnSOD and iNOS-to-MnSOD in CSF were negatively correlated with the BIS-11 motor scores (r = −0.431, p = −0.001; r = −0.434, p = −0.001). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the ratio of CSF iNOS-to-MnSOD was the most influential variable on the BIS-11 motor scores(β = −0.434, t = −3.433, 95 %CI(−0.374, −0.098), p = 0.001). Conclusions and RelevanceThe imbalance of central oxidation and antioxidation is related to impulsive behavior, which broadens our understanding of the correlation between impulsive behavior and OS.

The effects of health risk behaviors to excess mortality in the population with depression: A cohort study based on NHANES data

BackgroundThe population with depression had a considerable excess mortality risk. This increased mortality may be attributed to the biological consequences of depression or the substantial prevalence of health risk behaviors (HRBs). This study aimed to quantify the combined effects of four major HRBs - smoking, excessive alcohol use, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet - on excess mortality among depressed individuals. MethodsThis study included 35,738 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–06 to 2017–18, with mortality follow-up data censored through 2019. The standardized prevalence of HRBs was calculated for populations with and without depression. Poisson regression models were used to calculate the mortality rate ratio (MRR). Based on model adjusting for socio-demographic factors, the attenuation of MRR was determined after further adjustment for HRBs. ResultsA total of 3147 participants were identified as having depression. All HRBs showed a significantly higher prevalence among the population with depression. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, depression was associated with 1.7 and 1.8 times higher all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality rate, respectively. Further adjustment for all current HRBs resulted in a 21.9 % reduction in all-cause mortality rate and a 15.4 % decrease in cardiovascular disease mortality rate. LimitationHRBs were reported at a single time point, and we are unable to demonstrate a causal effect. ConclusionAt least 1/5 of excess mortality for population with depression was attributable to HRBs. Efforts should be made to address HRBs among population with depression.

Comorbidities in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a sibling study

BackgroundPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has previously been associated with several comorbidities that may have shared genetic, epigenetic, developmental or environmental origins. PCOS may be influenced by prenatal androgen excess, poor intrauterine or childhood environmental factors, childhood obesity and learned health risk behaviors. We analyzed the association between PCOS and several relevant comorbidities while adjusting for early-life biological and socioeconomic conditions, also investigating the extent to which the association is affected by familial risk factors.MethodsThis total-population register-based cohort study included 333,999 full sisters, born between 1962 and 1980. PCOS and comorbidity diagnoses were measured at age 17-45 years through national hospital register data from 1997 to 2011, and complemented with information on the study subjects´ early-life and social characteristics. In the main analysis, sister fixed effects (FE) models were used to control for all time-invariant factors that are shared among sisters, thereby testing whether the association between PCOS and examined comorbidities is influenced by unobserved familial environmental, social or genetic factors.ResultsThree thousand five hundred seventy women in the Sister sample were diagnosed with PCOS, of whom 14% had obesity, 8% had depression, 7% had anxiety and 4% experienced sleeping, sexual and eating disorders (SSE). Having PCOS increased the odds of obesity nearly 6-fold (adjusted OR (aOR): 5.9 [95% CI:5.4-6.5]). This association was attenuated in models accounting for unobserved characteristics shared between full sisters, but remained considerable in size (Sister FE: aOR: 4.5 [95% CI: 3.6-5.6]). For depression (Sister FE: aOR: 1.4 [95% CI: 1.2-1.8]) and anxiety (Sister FE: aOR: 1.5 [95% CI: 1.2-1.8), there was a small decrease in the aORs when controlling for factors shared between sisters. Being diagnosed with SSE disorders yielded a 2.4 aOR (95% CI:2.0-2.6) when controlling for a comprehensive set of individual-level confounders, which only decreased slightly when controlling for factors at the family level such as shared genes or parenting style. Accounting for differences between sisters in observed early-life circumstances influenced the estimated associations marginally.ConclusionHaving been diagnosed with PCOS is associated with a markedly increased risk of obesity and sleeping, sexual and eating disorders, also after accounting for factors shared between sisters and early-life conditions.

Substance use and adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: a longitudinal approach

ObjectiveTo describe the changes in alcohol and drug use by Brazilian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic (April-August 2021), and to analyze the relationship between alcohol use changes and psychiatric symptomatology. MethodsA secondary analysis with a longitudinal approach was performed with data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial, conducted in 73 public middle schools in three Brazilian cities, to evaluate the effectiveness of a drug use prevention program. The sample included 535 students (61% girls; Mage = 15.2 years). Data were collected pre-intervention (February-March 2019), after 9 months (November-December 2019), and after 26 months (April-August 2021), when the students were in their first year of high school. The authors analyzed drug use prevalence (alcohol, binge drinking, tobacco, inhalants, marijuana, cocaine, and crack) in a lifetime, past year, and past month periods, and the association between alcohol use change subsamples with psychiatric symptoms. Logistic regressions were adjusted by sex, age, socioeconomic status, city, and group (control and intervention). ResultsThe present findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in past-year substance use and in past-month substance use frequency, despite the gradually increased (but decelerating) prevalence of lifetime use. However, some adolescents initiated, maintained, or increased the frequency of their alcohol use. Mainly, they were more likely to present behavioral problems, as well as symptoms of inattentive hyperactivity, and peer and emotional problems. ConclusionsDespite the extensive decline in substance use during the pandemic period, these results suggest an association between previous mental health conditions and behavioral risk factors, leading to increased alcohol consumption and behavioral disorders manifestations.

Establishing Academic Burnout’s Relationship with Problematic Internet Use and Specific Health-Risk Behaviours: A Cross-sectional Study of Finnish Higher Education Students

AbstractProblematic Internet use is recognised as an emerging public health issue, particularly among young adults. Yet, there is scarce information on problematic Internet use as a predictor for academic burnout. This study aimed to identify academic burnout’s association with both problematic Internet use and specific health-risk behaviour among higher education students. We analysed the population-based cross-sectional survey data (with post-stratification weighting) of Finnish higher education students. Data was collected in 2021 (n = 6258; age 18–34). Regression analyses were used to investigate academic burnout’s relationship with problematic Internet use and health-risk behaviours. The results revealed that female gender, learning difficulties, the use snus (the Swedish-type of moist snuff), problematic Internet use, online shopping, and perceived loneliness were significantly and positively associated with academic burnout. In addition, a higher number of study credits earned, self-perceived good health, and a satisfactory financial level were significantly and inversely associated with academic burnout. The findings suggest that screening students for problematic behaviour and offering support for those in need are likely to be effective at increasing academic well-being among higher education students.

The four abilities of emotional intelligence as predictors of health risk behaviour: what role do impulsivity and sensitivity to reward play in this relationship?

Introduction Risky sexual relationships, reckless driving or initiating drug use are examples of health-related risk behaviours that are often related to poor emotional abilities (emotional identification, emotional understanding, facilitating thought and emotional regulation). However, the mechanisms by which this relationship operates have been relatively little studied. It is well known that certain personality traits such as impulsivity and sensitivity to reward are strongly related to risk-taking behaviour.ObjectivesThe aim of this work was to explore the role of these two traits in the relationship between each of the different abilities/ branches of emotional intelligence and health risk behaviour, as well as to identify the emotional ability that best predicts this relationship.MethodsA community sample of 250 participants (Mage = 23.60; 72% women) was used to measure levels of emotional intelligence in each of its branches (through the performance-based ability test MSCEIT), and levels of health risk behaviour, impulsivity and sensitivity to reward.ResultsThe results supported the existence of a negative relationship between the four emotional abilities and health risk-taking. Mediation analyses that included all four MSCEIT branches as predictors revealed an indirect effect of the “managing” branch on risk-taking, being the most important branch in predicting health-related risk-taking, due to its effects through impulsivity and sensitivity to reward.ConclusionsOur results suggest that a strong negative relationship exists between emotional management ability and health risk-taking, highlighting that the emotional components of impulsivity and levels of sensitivity to reward have been shown to be among the mediating factors underlying this relationship. Further experimental research is needed to confirm the role of emotional intelligence, and in particular emotional management, as a protective factor for risk-taking behaviour.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Implications of Physical Activity in Reducing Alcohol Use for Women Veterans: A Narrative Review.

Women veterans (WV) are a fast-growing population in the United States with concerning health disparities. Reports of increased risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and poorer health are evident in WV compared with their civilian counterparts. The transition from active duty to veteran poses additional life stressors, causing changes in health behaviors such as unhealthy alcohol consumption and decreased physical activity, which may explain health disparities in WV. The changes in these two health risk behaviors may be influenced by each other, and emerging evidence suggests that physical activity aids in managing alcohol consumption during alcohol use treatment. In this general narrative review, we summarized findings from studies involving WV on (1) the associations between alcohol consumption and physical activity and (2) the effect of physical activity on reducing alcohol use. We also discussed the clinical consideration of adding physical activity to alcohol use interventions for WV. Most of the literature included in this review has been based on predominantly veteran men populations. This knowledge gap highlights the importance of continued efforts and research studies targeting WV to eliminate health disparities among them.

IJCM_215A: Awareness and practices related to the prevention of urinary tract infections among the women of reproductive age group

Background: Urinary Tract Infection is one of the most common bacterial infections that affect women globally. UTI is limited to the lower urinary tract system in most women. Escherichia coli is the most common cause of uncomplicated UTIs. Pre-menopausal women are more susceptible to UTI due to behavioural risk factors. Most of the cases are preventable and assessing the awareness among the women about the risk factors and health behaviour modifications is an important step in this direction. Methodology: Cross sectional study was conducted in hospitals associated with Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. 188 Women of reproductive age group seeking inpatient, or outpatient healthcare was part of study population. The data was collected using the Interview Schedule which included their demographic details, socioeconomic status, awareness, attitude and practices towards UTI and its prevention. Collected data was entered in SPSS version 16.0 and analysed. Results: Of the total 188 participants in the study, 49.5% were housewives, while 20.7% were semi-skilled workers, 17.5% were professionals, and 12.2% were skilled workers. Of the 61 participants who answered 36% pointed out hygiene as a predisposition to UTI, 29% said they thought decreased water intake had a role to play, 16% thought diet could be a risk factor. 9% felt catheterization is also a cause, 8.9% thought body heat was a probable cause, while 11% said there were other causes involved. According to 96.28% of the participants increased uptake of water was a factor that would help prevent UTI. 1.06% of the women said that regular check-up could help prevent UTI but 48.94% did not see it as a preventive factor. Conclusion: Population on which the study was conducted does know what UTI is, while a few know of the risk factors and complications. It was also seen that the level of personal healthcare they maintain is satisfactory.

The status of intimate partner violence against pregnant women in contemporary China: a scoping review.

This review explored the status of publications on intimate partner violence (IPV) against pregnant women in contemporary China. The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycInfo databases were searched using the terms "IPV," "pregnant woman," "Chinese," and synonyms in English, along with related keywords for Chinese publications. All literature pertaining to IPV during pregnancy, conducted in China, and published between 1987 and September 2023 was included. A total of 37 articles from 30 studies were selected. The prevalence of IPV during pregnancy ranged from 2.5% to 31.3%, with psychological violence being the most common form. Frequently identified risk factors included unintended pregnancy, poor family economic conditions, male partners engaging in health risk behaviors, poor employment status of women or their partners, low education levels among women, physical or mental health issues, strained couple relationships, and in-law conflicts. IPV during pregnancy primarily led to mental health problems for the victims and could result in adverse obstetric outcomes, as well as negative effects on the temperament and development of the offspring. Victims in China demonstrated a low willingness to seek help from professionals. Furthermore, relevant research in mainland China is scarce, with a limited number of studies and non-standardized research methodologies. Future research should investigate IPV in pregnancy from various perspectives, identify factors unique to IPV during pregnancy, and focus on high-risk groups. Considering the conditions in China, there is a pressing need to increase public awareness of IPV and to investigate interventions aimed at addressing this issue.