Phthalates pose a significant health concern because they can leach from consumer products into the environment, leading to human exposure and potential adverse health effects. This cross-sectional study investigated phthalate concentrations in house dust collected from urban and rural areas in southern Thailand, examining their associations with household characteristics and spatial distribution across two communities. Two types of dust samples (multi-surface dust and floor dust) were collected from 310 houses using a vacuum cleaner before the monsoon season (March–April 2023). Ten phthalates were quantified using isotope-dilution gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. At least one phthalate was detected in all samples of house dust. DEHP, DnOP, and DBP were detected in 100%, 97.4%, and 88.7% of the samples, respectively, with DEHP showing the highest concentration (6,528 μg/g). The geometric mean concentration of total phthalates (Σ10PAE) was 192 μg/g. Phthalate concentrations in the urban area houses (mostly located in commercial zones) were significantly higher than those in rural area houses (p<0.005). According to the generalized linear models, phthalate concentrations were significantly associated with certain housing characteristics (e.g., household income, residential business operations, use of floor coverings) and indoor environmental factors (e.g., humidity and temperature). Households in close proximity to gas stations and vehicle repair shops appeared to have increased phthalate concentrations in dust. These findings are useful for Thailand and its local government in establishing appropriate guidelines to monitor phthalates in the environment and to reduce phthalate exposure via inhalation of contaminated household dust among Thai people . • DEHP, DnOP, and total phthalate concentrations were highly correlated with the use of floor covering, such as linoleum, plastic, or foam mats. • Households with residential business operations had significantly higher DEHP and DBP concentrations in dust than those without business operations. • Households located near gas stations or vehicle repair shops had higher phthalate concentrations in house dust. • Higher indoor temperature and humidity were associated with increased phthalate concentrations in house dust.

To explore the validity of using the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) as a proxy for individual or household income; for total IMD and subdomains, and for different individual and household types. Cross-sectional analysis of survey and administrative data. Income and contextual data were obtained from the Understanding Society survey, alongside the Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) of residence to enable linkage to the 2019 English IMD. The relationship between income and IMD (including subdomains) was explored using descriptive analysis and univariable linear regression models. Multivariable regression models were then employed to determine the relationship between income and IMD for different individual and household characteristics. Greater levels of income heterogeneity were observed in the least deprived LSOAs. R-squared values from univariable models suggest that around five percent of the variation in household income and around one percent of individual income can be attributed to IMD. Also, IMD was a particularly poor predictor of income for certain groups: young people under 25, females, those not in good health, White British individuals, single person households without children, and households in social rented accommodation. IMD is a poor proxy for individual or household level income, particularly for some population subgroups. Using IMD as a proxy potentially introduces large amounts of measurement error. IMD should be treated as an area level measure, both conceptually and statistically. Some IMD subdomains may be more useful for certain studies.

Disciplinary practices are strategies used by parents or caregivers to correct or guide children's behavior, often combining both aggressive and non-violent methods. In Honduras empirical evidence on these practices and their associated factor remains scarce. This study aims to identify disciplinary patterns in Honduran caregivers and explore associated sociodemographic factors with these patterns. Data were obtained from the 2019 Honduras National Demographic and Health Survey (ENDESA), which included a nationally representative sample of 16,182 caregivers of children aged 1-14years (M=7.5, SD=4.0). A cross-sectional design was used. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified disciplinary profiles based on 11 caregiver-reported behaviors, and multinomial logistic regression assessed associations with child and household characteristics. Analyses accounted for the complex sampling design. Four disciplinary profiles were identified: non-violent discipline (39.8%), low disciplinary control (28.4%), high control discipline (18.5%), and verbal with physical discipline (13.3%). High disciplinary control patterns were associated with younger child age, functional disability, lower socioeconomic status, and caregiver acceptance of physical punishment, whereas higher maternal education was protective. The coexistence of aggressive and non-aggressive practices highlights cultural ambivalence in child-rearing. Findings emphasize the need to strengthen positive parenting programs and public policies that promote non-violent discipline to ensure children's rights and well-being.

Child Hemoglobin Trajectories across the First 10 Years of Life and Association with Child Cognition and Academic Achievement at 10-11 Years.

This study examines how the housing type choices of elderly households are shaped by both household characteristics and local housing market structures. It focuses on whether the regional apartment share moderates the relationship between housing conditions and apartment choice in Korea. Using data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (2018, 2024) combined with regional statistics, the analysis is conducted for household heads aged 65 or older. To account for path dependency, the sample is divided into apartment and non-apartment households at baseline, and binary and multilevel logistic models are estimated. The results indicate that among households initially living in apartments, a larger housing area reduces the likelihood of apartment retention, but this negative effect is attenuated in regions with higher apartment ratios. Among households initially living in non-apartment housing, smaller housing areas increase the likelihood of transitioning into apartments, while the regional apartment ratio has a positive direct effect without a significant interaction effect. These findings suggest that housing type choices differ by baseline housing type, and that local housing market conditions moderate the relationship between housing conditions and housing type choice.

The household electricity consumption (HEC) directly contributes to energy demand and carbon emissions that are crucial in mitigating climate changes. This study applied linear regression and machine-learning models to examine the associations between HEC and green space attributes, individual and household characteristics, and user satisfaction. The city of Xi’an, China, was selected to collect data by residents’ survey and spatial analysis. The linear model results showed that key factors were mainly related to individual and household characteristics, as well as satisfaction with green spaces. In contrast, the random forest model revealed threshold effects, indicating that keeping the distance to the nearest green space within 1,200 m and providing at least four green spaces within a 1 km radius can effectively promote outdoor visits and reduce HEC. The analysis of dual-factor interactions revealed that simultaneously enhancing both accessibility and landscape quality of nearby green spaces represents an effective pathway for reducing HEC. These findings not only elucidate the mechanisms linking green space accessibility and HEC, but also provide quantitative guidance and actionable thresholds for optimizing the spatial configuration, accessibility, and service efficiency of urban green spaces. This study contributes practical guidance on embedding energy-saving and carbon-reduction strategies within green space system planning, advancing the transition toward sustainable and climate-responsive urban development.

Beliefs of a child's primary caregiver are known to influence immunization uptake. As coverage increases, the characteristics of households with undervaccinated children may be shifting. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of households with a child 12-23months of age. Vaccine status was verified by inspection of immunization cards or caregiver report. Composite scores captured caregiver beliefs and experiences with vaccination. Associations between these measures and vaccination status were evaluated using weighted logistic regression. Caregivers of 1689 children were surveyed. The odds of full vaccination were not associated with composite beliefs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.04 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.95 to 1.14]) or experiences scores (aOR 1.04 [95% CI 0.96 to 1.13]). Specific beliefs that vaccines prevent severe disease (aOR 2.68 [95% CI 1.64 to 4.37]) and protect the community (aOR 1.67 [95% CI 1.10 to 2.53]) were positively associated, whereas beliefs that children receive too many vaccines (aOR 0.60 [95% CI 0.44 to 0.83]) were negatively associated with full vaccination. Positive experiences, including knowing someone affected by a vaccine-preventable disease (aOR 2.10 [95% CI 1.47 to 3.00]) were also linked to full vaccination. Although composite scores were not associated with immunization status, individual beliefs and experiences may still factor into caregiver decisions to vaccinate their children.

Maternal mental health is an important determinant of child development, yet most evidence relies on short exposure windows or single-wave measures. Less is known about how long-run maternal mental health relates to child outcomes when child development data are observed intermittently. Using nationally representative longitudinal household panel data, we examined associations between maternal mental health and child behavioural outcomes, academic performance, and expectations of future university participation. Child outcomes were observed in three survey waves, while maternal mental health was measured repeatedly over a longer period. Maternal mental health was operationalized as long-run averages of general mental health and psychological distress. Ordinary least squares models were estimated with adjustment for child, maternal, and household characteristics, and standard errors were clustered at the mother level. Higher maternal psychological distress was associated with poorer academic performance and less favourable behavioural and educational outcomes. Associations involving general maternal mental health were attenuated after full adjustment. Persistent maternal psychological distress is associated with poorer child academic outcomes. Although causal inference is not possible, the findings highlight maternal mental wellbeing as an important correlate of child development.

The phenomenon of sandwich households those bearing dual economic burdens both upwards and downwards across generations has the potential to increase socio-economic vulnerability, yet remains underexplored in poverty-related studies. This research aims to analyze the characteristics of sandwich households and the factors influencing their poverty status in Bengkulu Province in 2024. Utilizing data from the 2024 National Socio-Economic Survey and a multinomial logistic regression approach, this study classified sandwich households into four economic status categories: poor, vulnerable-to-poverty, moving toward the middle-class, and middle-class. The findings reveal that households headed by individuals aged over 35, working as informal workers, having more than four dependents, and receiving social-economic assistance are more likely to fall into the poor and vulnerable-to-poverty groups. In addition, the low educational attainment of the household head significantly increases the risk of falling into the vulnerable category. These results indicate that there are opportunities for targeted policy interventions focusing on these at-risk groups through skills training, improved access to formal employment, and better-targeted social-economic assistance programs. Moreover, enhancing educational quality represents a vital long-term strategy to break the cycle of intergenerational economic vulnerability within sandwich households.

In subscription-based communication markets, customer churn threatens both revenue and long-term audience relationships. Although machine learning models are widely used to target at-risk subscribers, many implementations remain opaque and difficult to translate into communication strategies. This article analyzes an anonymized telecom customer churn dataset to examine how communication-related attributes of the customer relationship shape churn risk and how explainable machine learning can support retention communication. Logistic regression, random forest, and gradient boosting models are estimated on secondary data for 7,032 subscribers, with class imbalance handled through weighted training and performance evaluated on a held-out test set. Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) are then applied to the best-performing tree-based model, with predictors grouped into four constructs: relationship and contract attributes, digital communication and billing channels, support and value-added services, and demographic and household characteristics. The models achieve good discrimination, and SHAP analyses show that contract type, tenure, and billing-related monetary variables dominate churn prediction, followed by support and value-added services and digital billing channels, while demographics play a limited role. Aggregating explanations at the construct level yields stage-specific insights into early versus late relationship drivers of churn and illustrates how churn analytics can be aligned with media and communication theory to design more targeted retention communication.

ABSTRACT Based on the China Household Finance Survey (2013–2019), we investigate the relationship between financial literacy and household financial portfolio efficiency (HFPE). We find that households with higher levels of financial literacy allocate assets more efficiently. We also reveal two key pathways through which financial literacy enhances HFPE: the mitigation of information asymmetry and the enhancement of households’ risk attitude and capabilities. The information asymmetry channel is operationalized using three dimensions—attention to economic news, attendence economics or finance training programs, and the use of digital skills, while households’ risk attitudes and capabilities is captured by risk awareness, risk tolerance, and risk management capacity. Further analysis also demonstrates that the impact of financial literacy varies significantly across different household characteristics and regions.

Despite significant economic growth in developing countries, child malnutrition remains a daunting challenge. Recent studies indicate that later-born children in these countries often face health disadvantages. This study examines the effects of birth order on child nutrition using four rounds of the Demographic and Health Survey in Bangladesh. We find a significant nutritional disadvantage for later-born children: specifically, second-born children are approximately 0.055 standard deviations shorter in height and 2.7 percentage points more likely to be stunted than their first-born siblings. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals differences in birth order effects across key individual and household characteristics—such as gender and household economic status—and we further show that the birth order effect emerges after the age of 2 years and can persist through the age of 4 years. Given the broader economic implications of child growth, our findings offer insights for development-focused policy agenda, especially Sustainable Development Goals in many developing countries including Bangladesh.

The study examined the drivers of food losses and wastes among farm households in some selected local government area of Oyo State, Nigeria. The study described the socioeconomic characteristics of the farm households, identified the causes of food losses and wastes among the farm households, determined the factors affecting farm households food losses and wastes and also identified the management strategies used by farm households to minimize food losses and wastes in the study area. Two stage sampling technique was used to select 86 farming households from two local government areas from who data were collected. The data were collected using questionnaire and analyzed with the aid of descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Square regression model. Results obtained shows that farmers in the study area were mostly in their productive age with mean of 47 years, 80.2% were married with average household size of 5 persons and about 90.3% had formal education. The result also revealed that over/excessive purchase, unfavorable weather condition, pest and diseases attack and inadequate storage facility were the causes of food losses and wastes respectively. The OLS result showed that gender, household size, frequency of power supply, awareness on environmental effect of food losses and wastes and total income were the factors significantly affecting food losses and wastes among the farm households. However, the farm households employed storing food in a sealed container, appropriate meal planning and checking of food expiration date before purchase as strategies to minimized food losses and wastes in the study area. The study therefore recommended that Farm households should avoid over/excessive purchase of food stuff so as to reduce food losses, Also, Government should assist in providing stable power supply to safe food stored and prevent wastage.

Early life exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse health outcomes in children however few studies have investigated children’s air pollution exposures in urban settings in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We measured fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) in homes of infants in Nairobi, Kenya and conducted exploratory analysis of exposure factors. Questionnaires captured household characteristics and self-reported air pollution exposures. Indoor and outdoor 24-hour (24 h) concentrations were measured inside and 1 m outside the house. PM2.5 was sampled using standard gravimetric procedures; CO was measured with direct-reading electrochemical sensors. Forty-eight homes were sampled at median infant age 11.5 months (range 0.8-26.2 months). During sampling, 66.7%, 18.8%, 10.4% and 10.4% of mothers, respectively, reported using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethanol, electricity, and kerosene for cooking. Median indoor and outdoor 24 h PM2.5 concentrations (n = 39) were 39.9 ug/m3 (range, 12.8-519.6 ug/m3) and 23.3 ug/m3 (range, 2.6-68.2 ug/m3), respectively. Most PM2.5 concentrations (97% of indoor; 79% of outdoor) exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) 24 h air quality guideline (AQG) of 15 ug/m3. Median indoor (n = 47) and outdoor (n = 41) 24 h mean CO concentrations were 0.7 ppm (range, 0-33.9 ppm) and 0.0 ppm (range, 0-1.0 ppm), respectively. Mean indoor CO concentrations exceeded the WHO 24 h AQG of 6.2 ppm in 9% of homes. Despite frequent use of cooking fuels considered to be clean such as LPG and ethanol, PM2.5 and CO levels in infant homes in urban SSA often exceeded the WHO AQGs. Expanded studies of children’s air pollution exposures in urban SSA are needed to build awareness and inform policy.

BackgroundCaregivers of children with disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing poor mental health due to the compound effects of financial and family stressors. This study aims to identify risk and protective factors for poor mental health, particularly depression, among caregivers of young children with disabilities.MethodsThis is a secondary data analysis, including a total of 1518 caregivers who were enrolled at baseline in a cluster randomised trial evaluating the effects of Sugira Muryango, a home-visiting parenting intervention, on early child development and violence prevention outcomes. A total of 309 primary caregivers were identified as having a child aged 12–36 months who screened positive for some form of developmental delay. Associations between key sociodemographic and household characteristics and depression outcomes were explored using multivariable linear regression models.ResultsAmong the sample of caregivers of children with disabilities, 65% met the clinical cut-off for likely depression. Economic hardship (β=0.158, p<0.001), food insecurity (β=0.009, p<0.01) and caregiver illness (β=0.183, p<0.01) were significant risk factors for depression. In contrast, family unity (β=−0.013, p<0.001) was an important protective factor for depression among these caregivers. Among married/cohabiting caregivers, intimate partner violence (IPV) was associated with higher mean depression scores (β=0.306, p<0.001), though the inclusion of family unity in the full model (inclusive of risk and protective factors) attenuated the impact of IPV on depression.ConclusionsProgrammes targeting children with disabilities should also address the mental health needs of parents. Mental health difficulties are common for caregivers living in poverty, especially those raising a child with a disability or developmental delay. Additionally, parenting programmes that reduce family violence and build family unity should be prioritised by policymakers interested in improving the mental health and well-being of families facing extreme poverty.

ABSTRACTIntroductionThe increasing popularity of alcohol‐free and low‐alcohol (NoLo) drinks could reduce alcohol‐related harm if those at greatest risk replace their standard alcoholic drinks with these products. This paper aimed to identify: (i) characteristics associated with occasional purchase of NoLo drinks in Great Britain in 2021; and (ii) whether these characteristics changed between 2018 and 2021.MethodsLogistic regression using data from Worldpanel by Numerator dataset detailing alcoholic and NoLo drink purchases in the off‐trade (i.e., shops) by households in Great Britain in 2018 (n = 14,702) and 2021 (n = 15,257). The primary outcome was occasional NoLo purchasing (≥ 4 times in the past year), and secondary outcomes were occasional NoLo beer, cider or wine purchasing.ResultsIn 2021, 5.7% of households purchased NoLo ≥ 4 in the past year, compared to 3.0% in 2018. In 2021, these households were more likely to be alcohol purchasers than non‐purchasers [low‐risk purchasers (≤ 112 g per week): OR = 7.11, p < 0.001; increasing risk (113–280 g per week): OR = 10.72, p < 0.001; higher risk (> 280 g per week): OR = 12.10, p < 0.001] and less likely to be from lower social grades than grade AB (Grade C2: OR = 0.72, p = 0.008; Grade D: OR = 0.58, p < 0.001; Grade E: OR = 0.46, p < 0.001). Results were similar for occasional purchasers of NoLo beer, but there was no significant association with social grade for purchasing NoLo cider or wine. The characteristics associated with occasional NoLo purchasing did not change significantly between 2018 and 2021.Discussion and ConclusionsHouseholds from higher social grades who purchase more alcohol are more likely to regularly purchase NoLo products.

Screen time and language/cognitive development in preschoolers aged 3-5 years.

Bias in hair cortisol measures for psychological stress: Self vs. professional collection.

The energy-saving effects of home retrofit programmes in Canada.

Evidence on the relationship between public health expenditure and health is mixed and particularly scarce for low-income countries. Existing studies overlook the subnational distribution of expenditure and rarely distinguish between sources and governance over funding. We estimated the relationship between three types of health expenditure across 121 districts in Mozambique and multiple outcomes from 2008 to 2015. We generated a unique dataset covering individual outcomes from Demographic and Health Surveys and district-level domestic and international health expenditure, channelled to local institutions via provincial budget support or earmarked projects. We related lagged expenditure to outcomes using logit regressions, controlling for time-varying mother, household, and district characteristics, and district and year fixed effects. Domestic expenditure was positively associated with institutional delivery, infant and child survival, budget support with infant and child survival, lower child anaemia, and higher vaccination, and earmarked projects with recommended antenatal care. Associations with health outcomes were driven by wealthier households, with institutional delivery by households closer to facilities and with vaccinations and antenatal care by households with lower service access. Domestic expenditure is essential to improve child health and to support international expenditure, which is more effective when managed by local governments through sustained and predictable funding schemes.