Academic performance and social networks of adolescents in a caribbean city in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Social factors and networks of friends can influence an adolescent's behavior, including academic performance (AP) in school. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between AP and adolescents' social networks in a Caribbean city in Colombia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 806 schoolchildren from 12 to 17 years old of both sexes (52.7% girls), selected by multi-stage sampling from schools in the rural and urban areas of the city of Montería, Colombia. The AP was obtained from the school records; the sociodemographic variables included the location of the school (rural or urban), family structure, family functioning (Apgar score), and family affluence scale. Social network variables included social activity, popularity, reciprocity, homophily, friends' academic performance, network size, network density, cluster of friends, and centrality. RESULTS: The AP was inversely associated with the Apgar score in boys. No associations of AP with the school location, family structure, family affluence scale, and age were observed. In social network variables, AP was positively associated with popularity and friends' academic performance in girls and boys, and negatively associated with homophily in boys. CONCLUSIONS: AP was associated with social network variables. These results could help implement interventions to improve adolescents' social environment and AP.

Fitness, fatness, body movement, and diet in adolescents: clustering and associations with elevated blood pressure.

BACKGROUND: The study of clusters of risk factors for elevated blood pressure (EBP) among adolescents from low- middle-income countries has received little research attention. The objective of the study was to identify clusters of EBP precursors (i.e., overweight, physical fitness, risk diet, and body movement) and to analyze its associations with EBP. METHODS: This a cross-sectional study conducted in a sample of 965 secondary schools' students aged between 12 and 17 years-old from Colombia. Measurements included blood pressure, sociodemographic information, and four EBP precursors: Overweight, body movement, risk diet, and physical fitness. Cluster analysis was applied with the two-step method to identify the patterns of EBP precursors, and logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between clusters and EBP. RESULTS: Findings indicate that EBP was present in 28.9% of the students, approximately 20% of adolescents had desirable profile (normal weight, normal-high physical fitness, low-risk diet, and middle-high body movement), and 16% of them had the four EBP precursors. The cluster solution revealed five clusters, formed according to the accumulation of EBP precursors, this is, characterized by having zero, one (low body movement), two (low body movement and high-risk diet), three (low body movement, high risk diet, and low fitness), or four (low body movement, high risk diet, low fitness, and overweight) EBP precursors. The cluster with four EBP precursors had a higher risk of having EBP. CONCLUSIONS: According to these findings, it is necessary to implement programs that simultaneously address multiple health-related behaviors to promote health in adolescents.

Family aspects, physical fitness, and physical activity associated with mental-health indicators in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the study was to analyze the associations of family aspects, physical fitness, and physical activity with mental-health indicators in a sample of adolescents from Colombia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study carried out in a sample of 988 adolescents (11-17 years-old) from public schools in Montería. Mental-health indicators were evaluated: Stress, depression, anxiety, happiness, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and subjective wellness. Family aspects included family affluence, functionality, and structure. These variables, along with physical activity and screen time, were measured with questionnaires. A fitness score was established by assessing the components of fitness: Flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, grip strength, and lower-limb strength. Associations were analyzed by multivariate linear regression models. RESULTS: Nuclear family structure was associated with lower stress level (- 1.08, CI: - 1.98 - -0.18), and family functionality was associated with all the studied mental-health indicators (Stress: -0.11, CI: - 0.17 - -0.06; depression: -0.20, CI: - 0.25 - -0.16; trait anxiety: -0.13, CI: - 0.18 - -0.09; state anxiety: -0.12, CI: - 0.17 - -0.08; happiness: 0.09, CI: 0.07 - 0.1; HRQL: 1.13, CI: 0.99 - 1.27; subjective wellness: 1.67, CI: 1.39 - 1.95). Physical activity was associated (ß, 95% Confidence Interval (CI)) with depression (- 0.27, - 0.57 - -0.02), trait anxiety (- 0.39, CI: - 0.65 - -0.13), state anxiety (- 0.30, CI: - 0.53 - -0.07), happiness (0.14, CI: 0.06 - 0.22), HRQL (3.63, CI: 2.86 - 4.43), and subjective wellness (5.29, CI: 3.75 - 6.83). Physical fitness was associated with stress (- 0.80, CI: - 1.17 - -0.43), state anxiety (- 0.45, CI: - 0.73 - -0.17), and HRQL (1.75, CI: 0.82 - 2.69); screen time was only associated with stress (0.06, CI: 0.02 - 0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Family aspects were associated with mental health indicators, especially family functionality which was associated all mental-health indicators. Similarly, fitness, physical activity, and screen time were associated with the studied indicators of mental health. Particularly, physical activity was associated with all the mental-health indicators, except stress, which was only associated with screen time. Physical fitness was associated with stress, anxiety, and HRQL. Future studies could explore the causal relationships of fitness, physical activity and screen time with mental health in adolescents.