Correlation between both neck/shoulder and low back pain and daily behavioral habits among middle school students in Shenzhen / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To study the relations between neck/shoulder or low back pain and their daily behavioral habits among middle school students in Shenzhen. Methods: We randomly chose 3 952 students from 10 high schools in Shenzhen to complete the questionnaires. Data was gathered and analyzed, using the IBM SPSS 23.0. Results: Of the 3 952 participants, 20.3% had neck/shoulder pain and 15.2% had low back pain. Among students experienced neck/shoulder pain, female (25.3%), high school (24.5%) and boarding students (24.4%) experienced higher rates of neck/shoulder pain (P<0.05). Female students (17.9%) also had higher rate of low back pain (P<0.05). Results from logistic regression analysis showed that factors as: gender, type of school, taking naps on the desk, staying up late, self-perceived stress from learning, overloading homework, time spent on mobile phone and TV, spending long time on computer etc. were related to the neck/shoulder pain (P<0.05). Factors as: gender, naps on the desk, stay up late, self-perceived stress, overloading homework, time spent on mobile phone and TV etc., were related to low back pain (P<0.05). Conclusion: Neck/shoulder pain and low back pain were both commonly seen while high self-perceived stress, sedentary behaviors and poor sleeping habits were associated with both neck/shoulder and low back pain in high school students in Shenzhen.

Prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents from 2013 to 2017 in Shenzhen / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To examine the status and trends of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents aged 6-17 in Shenzhen between 2013 and 2017. Methods: Six primary schools, three junior high schools and three high schools were selected in Shenzhen from 2013 to 2017, through stratified cluster sampling method. Height and weight of the selected students were measured. Results: In total, 94 868 students were monitored from 2013 to 2017. The average prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 13.31% and 9.60%, respectively. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity appeared higher in boys (17.60% and 12.43%) than those in girls (10.27% and 5.93%). The prevalence of overweight was higher than obesity. Both prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were declining over the past five years. The maximal prevalence rates of overweight of boys and girls were from 10 to 12 and 13 to 15 years of age, while the obesity was from 6 to 9 years old, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were on the decline from 2013 to 2017, however, attention should be paid to the obesity problem in students.