The relationship between life-style and cardio-metabolic risk indicators in children: the importance of screen time.

AIMS: To examine differences between children with obesity and normal weight children (aged 7-13 years) in terms of physical activity, screen time, food intake and blood parameters indicative of cardio-metabolic risk. Further, to explore the relationship between physical activity, screen time and food intake with cardio-metabolic parameters. METHODS: Forty-three children with obesity were compared with 43 normal weight peers. Physical activity was monitored by accelerometers and screen time and food intake by diaries. Blood parameters indicative of cardio-metabolic risk were analysed. RESULTS: The group of children with obesity had significantly less vigorous activity (p = 0.013), more daily screen time (p = 0.004) and consumed more fat (p = 0.04) than the group of normal weight children. The former group also demonstrated higher values of triglycerides (p = 0.001), HbA1c (p = 0.009), C-peptide (p = 0.001), had a higher HOMA-R score (p = 0.001), and lower levels of HDL (p = 0.001). After controlling for weight category, regression analyses revealed that screen time was significantly and positively related to the HOMA-R score and C-peptide levels independent of physical activity and intake of fat and sugar. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that screen time is an important behavioural factor related to obesity and cardio-metabolic risk indicators in children.

Shift work and sick leave.

OBJECTIVE: Shift workers working nights are known to have higher morbidity from certain illnesses than day workers. This study examined episodes of certified sick leaves of day workers and shift workers in a large industrial plant to examine whether slowly rotating shift work leads to increased risk of sick leave. METHODS: In a case-base design more than 11000 episodes of sick leave, lasting more than 3 days, were obtained from the sick-leave files of a chemical plant in Norway. The diagnoses were grouped into 5 categories according to information on their work schedules. The workers included in the study were divided into 3 groups. They worked slowly rotating 3 shifts, 2 shifts without night work, and daytime schedules. RESULTS: For all the diagnoses the shift workers and day workers were evenly distributed among the cases and the referents, the odds ratios ranging from 0.8 to 1.2. The risk of sick leave did not change with the number of years in shift work. There was a higher risk of sick leave with musculoskeletal diagnoses among the 2-shift workers. CONCLUSIONS: In this study shift workers did not have a higher risk of sick leave for diseases that, in previous studies, have been shown to be related to shift and night work. Although bias may be present in the study, the results are in line with those of previous studies, and they suggest that even certified sick leaves are not a valid proxy for morbidity.

[Religious affiliation and mental health--is there a connection? Health survey in Finnmark 1990]. / Religiøs tilhørighet og psykisk helse--finnes det en sammenheng? Helseundersøkelsen i Finnmark 1990.

The Finnmark Health Study in 1990 included questions on both mental health and religious affiliation. 7,633 individuals were invited to take part in the study, and 4,387 (58%) answered the question about religious affiliation. Members of the Norwegian Church (Lutheran Evangelical) had the highest score on all mental health variables. The group without any connection with a religious organization (non-members) contained highest proportion of persons who were not content with their life (20%) and the highest proportion who had coping problems (11%). Non-members and members of the "Laestadianer" spiritual movement showed the highest proportion with insomnia (36%). The proportion using psychotropic drugs was highest among the members of the "Laestadianer" spiritual movement (13%), which also contained the highest proportion reporting low global health. Owing to its cross-sectional design, the present study is unable to establish the causal direction of the association between religious affiliation and mental health. Various aspects of some religious beliefs and practices can probably cause mental health problems, and persons with mental health problems may be attracted to certain religious groups. Only future follow-up studies can untangle and quantify these possible causal associations.