Evolution of screen use among youth between 2012 and 2020 in Switzerland.

AIM: To compare the evolution of screen and Internet use by youths between 2012 and 2020 in Switzerland. METHODS: Cross-sectional studies of 10th-graders (age 13-14) were performed in Switzerland in 2012 and 2020, and compared in bivariate and multivariate analyses on sociodemographic, schooling, physical activity, emotional well-being, and screen use variables. RESULTS: We found that screen use had shifted to smartphones with 71.7 % of youths primarily using this device in 2020 compared to 23.2 % in 2012. In association with this change, young people's screen time had increased dramatically with an odds ratio (OR) of 11.90 for adolescents spending more than 4 h in front of screens in 2020 compared to 2012. No changes were found in the score on the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) to detect problematic screen use and for adolescents' emotional well-being. Furthermore, youths in 2020 engaged in less physical activity lasting 60 min daily, but the frequency of their extracurricular sport participation remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Young people spend more time on screens, especially because of an increase in smartphone use in 2020. However, youths do not seem to show more problematic behaviors regarding screen use, nor has this development affected their emotional well-being. The daily and continuous use of new devices is now an integral part of young people's lives. This process seems to be part of the growth of the digital world. However, Internet and screen addiction scales should be adapted to ensure that adolescents in need of help and counseling are identified.

From request to dispensation: how adolescent and young adult females experience access to emergency contraception in pharmacies.

PURPOSE: Emergency contraception (EC) access was liberalised in 2002 in Switzerland by making it accessible in pharmacies without medical prescription. However, its dispensation still requires a confidential interview with a pharmacist. This qualitative study aims to explore experiences of adolescent and young adult (AYA) females who have gone to a pharmacy in order to obtain EC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty interviews were conducted from April to August 2019 with females aged between 15 and 25 years old at the interview. Inclusion criteria was to have requested at least one EC in a pharmacy between 2014 and 2019. A thematic content analysis was performed to extract themes brought up by the participants. RESULTS: Some participants reported that the most difficult moment in the process was the request at the counter. The majority of participants were escorted in a private back room but opinions were divided regarding this isolation. Experiences were sometimes negative due to lack of information and knowledge regarding the dispensation process. The interview also has also a preventive aim, but the information given during it often focussed solely on the risk of vomiting. Several participants reported having perceived or received moral judgements from pharmacists. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacists are key resources and EC dispensation an opportunity for sexual health. This exploratory study presents several elements requiring the adaptation of practices in order to prevent them from becoming barriers for AYA to access EC. Concerns are regularly expressed by young women about privacy, embarrassment and judgement in the pharmacy context regarding contraception.

Sending One's Own Intimate Image: Sexting Among Middle-School Teens.

BACKGROUND: There is a gap in the literature regarding data on sexting among youth under the age of 16 whereas the problems related to this practice could affect them more because of their ongoing development. This study aims to determine the prevalence rate and characteristics of sending one's own sexually related image among middle-school teens. METHODS: Data were obtained from a web-based in-school survey conducted between October 2019 and February 2020. The sample comprised 3006 (mean age 13.7; 50.2% males) 10th-grade pupils in the canton of Vaud (Switzerland). Participants were asked "Have you ever sent a sexually related/sexy image of yourself?". Analysis of variance/chi-square tests and multinomial regression analyses were used to compare the groups. RESULTS: Overall, 93.0% reported never, 3.7% once and 3.3% several times. No gender differences were found. Sending was associated with older age, low academic performance, cyberbullying victimization and reception of unsolicited sexually related images. CONCLUSIONS: Education and health professionals should be aware that it is necessary to discuss the theme, perhaps with a more global approach including pressure, consent, exchange of nonsexual images, and so on from an early age. The context and reasons for sending remain to be explored, particularly to determine if the pressure is greater at this age.

Transactional sex among young people in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study.

Background The aim of this research was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of youths having ever exchanged sex and to assess if there were differences depending on whether they had done it once or several times. We also investigated what they exchanged sex for and their relationship with the last person they did it with. Methods A cross-sectional national survey was carried out in Switzerland in 2017 among young adults. The 5175 participants (51% males, mean age 26.3years) who answered the question 'Have you ever received something or obtained an advantage in exchange for a sexual act?' were divided into three groups: Never (96.8%), Once (1.5%) and Several (1.7%). Results In the multivariate analysis, compared to the Never group, those in the Once group were significantly more likely to be males, to have a poor mental health, to be non-exclusively heterosexual and to have had 10+ lifetime sexual partners. Those in the Several group reported the same characteristics, but were also more likely to be younger at first sexual contact, to have their parents not living together, to report a lower socioeconomic status and a history of sexual abuse, and to have ever sent sexual images/videos of themselves. They were also less satisfied with their financial situation. Conclusions Results indicate that transactional sex is a reality for some youths in Switzerland, and health professionals dealing with them should include this question in their sexual anamnesis. From a public health perspective, sexual education and prevention campaigns should include this phenomenon.

Transition from paediatric to adult care: What about the healthy ones?

OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics of and use of the healthcare system by healthy youths depending on whether they had discussed transition to adult health care with their paediatrician or not. METHODS: Data were drawn from the fourth wave of the GenerationFRee study (2018-2019) conducted in the 11 post-mandatory schools of the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. The sample included 931 young people (mean age 19.4 years). Participants were categorised into three groups: those who had discussed transition with their p ediatrician (n = 176; 19%), those who had not (n = 286; 31%) and those who did not know (n = 469; 50%). Analyses were stratified by gender through bivariate analysis and post-hoc tests with a Bonferroni-type adjustment. RESULTS: The majority of participants did not know whether or not they had discussed transition. Across all groups, it was found that youths met their primary care physician at a higher rate through family. Meeting with the primary care physician through the paediatrician occurred at a higher rate when youths had discussed transition. Girls with a below average socioeconomic status and boys with advanced puberty onset were more likely to have discussed transition. CONCLUSION: Our results show that youths are not well informed about the transition process. However, youths who have discussed transition appear to be more involved with the healthcare system as they are more likely to have a primary care provider. In order to avoid discontinuity of care, professionals should approach transition to adult care systematically with all their patients.

Virgins at age 26: who are they?

Background Studies on virgins remain scarce. This study explores the characteristics of virgin young adults, the reasons for remaining virgin, and its potential social and health implications. METHODS: Data were drawn from the 2017 Swiss study on sexual health and behaviour among young adults. A total of 5175 participants (mean age 26 years ± 0.01) were divided into virgins and non-virgins. Virginity was defined as never having had a sexual partner, defined as a person with whom the participant has had sexual contact with or without penetration. RESULTS: A total of 275 (5.3% (95% CI: 4.7-6.0), 58% males) were virgins. Virgins had higher odds of being male (aOR: 2.27 (95% CI: 1.62-3.17)) and reporting poorer health (1.43 (1.07-1.92)). They had lower odds of living on their own (0.24 (0.18-0.32)), being satisfied with their social life (0.78 (0.72-0.85)), having experimented with substances (e.g. drunkenness, 0.27 (0.19-0.67)) and having used online dating (0.52 (0.26-1.12)) or pornography (0.67 (0.42-0.94)). The main reason for remaining virgin was 'I have not found the right person' for females, and 'I have not had the occasion' for males. CONCLUSIONS: Among young adults, 1 in 20 is a virgin. Virgins do not seem to have gone through the usual experimentations of adolescence, are less socially driven and reported more health challenges. The main reason for remaining a virgin reveals gender-stereotyped responses. Sexual inactivity among young adults should be considered by health professionals to ensure the absence of distress and open discussion for potential questions.

[Who are the drug users in precarious situation in the canton of Vaud ?] / Qui sont les consommateur·trice·s de substances illicites en situation de précarité dans le canton de Vaud ?

With a long experience in evaluating public health measures in the fields of HIV and drug addiction at national level, the Evaluation and Expertise in Public Health sector (CEESAN, Unisanté, Switzerland) has also been monitoring the situation in the canton of Vaud for more than twenty years. In this article, we present two instruments developed for epidemiological monitoring purposes : the « Pointage annuel du profil des usager·ère·s des structures à bas-seuil d'accès ¼ (PAPU, annual measure of users of low-threshold facilities' profile) and the online platform for opioid agonist treatments. The data collected through these two instruments provide information on the main characteristics of precarious drug users in the canton and help to guide public policy in this field.

Fort d'une longue expérience dans l'évaluation des mesures de santé publique dans les domaines du VIH et de la toxicomanie au niveau national, le secteur Évaluation et expertise en santé publique du Centre universitaire de médecine générale et santé publique suit également la situation dans le canton de Vaud depuis plus de 20 ans. Nous présentons dans cet article deux outils développés à des fins de suivi épidémiologique : le pointage annuel du profil des usager·ère·s des structures à bas seuil d'accès et la plateforme en ligne des traitements agonistes opioïdes. Les données ainsi récoltées renseignent à la fois sur les principales caractéristiques des consommateur·trice·s précaires dans le canton et contribuent à l'orientation des politiques publiques dans le domaine.

Anal Intercourse among Heterosexual Young Adults: A Population-Based Survey in Switzerland.

Anal intercourse (AI) among heterosexuals is an understudied and taboo subject. This 2017 Swiss national study aimed to describe the characteristics and motivations of heterosexual young adults practicing AI. Participants with any same-sex experience, same-sex attraction or non-heterosexual identity were excluded. The Federal Statistical Office provided the initial sample and potential participants were recruited through postal mail inviting them to an online survey (response rate 15.1%). The sample comprised 3892 participants (52% males; 54% of the overall sample, mean age 26.3 years). Overall, 55% of women and 56% of men had never experienced AI, 17% and 12% had done it once and 28% and 32% more than once, respectively. We found that participants engaging in AI had higher odds of practicing intercourse while intoxicated, being younger at first sexual experience, not using a condom at last intercourse and reporting a history of sexual transmitted infections. The main reason reported by both genders for engaging in their first AI was being curious followed by being in love. In conclusion, AI is a widespread practice among heterosexual young adults and health professionals should be especially attentive to it.

SLC2A9 (GLUT9) mediates urate reabsorption in the mouse kidney.

Uric acid (UA) is a metabolite of purine degradation and is involved in gout flairs and kidney stones formation. GLUT9 (SLC2A9) was previously shown to be a urate transporter in vitro. In vivo, humans carrying GLUT9 loss-of-function mutations have familial renal hypouricemia type 2, a condition characterized by hypouricemia, UA renal wasting associated with kidney stones, and an increased propensity to acute renal failure during strenuous exercise. Mice carrying a deletion of GLUT9 in the whole body are hyperuricemic and display a severe nephropathy due to intratubular uric acid precipitation. However, the precise role of GLUT9 in the kidney remains poorly characterized. We developed a mouse model in which GLUT9 was deleted specifically along the whole nephron in a tetracycline-inducible manner (subsequently called kidney-inducible KO or kiKO). The urate/creatinine ratio was increased as early as 4 days after induction of the KO and no GLUT9 protein was visible on kidney extracts. kiKO mice are morphologically identical to their wild-type littermates and had no spontaneous kidney stones. Twenty-four-hour urine collection revealed a major increase of urate urinary excretion rate and of the fractional excretion of urate, with no difference in urate concentration in the plasma. Polyuria was observed, but kiKO mice were still able to concentrate urine after water restriction. KiKO mice displayed lower blood pressure accompanied by an increased heart rate. Overall, these results indicate that GLUT9 is a crucial player in renal handling of urate in vivo and a putative target for uricosuric drugs.