Association of Internet Addiction with Adolescents' Lifestyle: A National School-Based Survey.

Internet addiction (IA) among adolescents is an issue of growing concern with adverse effects on adolescents' health and social functioning. This study aims to determine the prevalence of IA among school-going adolescents in Malaysia and its associated factors-specifically, lifestyle factors. A nationwide cross-sectional school-based health survey was conducted in 2017 among 27,497 students from 212 randomly selected secondary schools. Information regarding sociodemography, lifestyle, and internet use was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. IA was measured using the Malay Version of Internet Addiction Test (MVIAT). The prevalence of internet addiction was 29.0%. A multivariable logistic analysis revealed that inadequate fruit and vegetable intakes, consumed carbonated soft drinks at least once a day, consumed fast food at least three days/week, sedentary behavior, current E-cigarette users, and ever/current alcohol drinkers were lifestyle factors significantly associated with IA. Adolescents from urban schools, of higher school grade, and those whose parents are married but living apart were also found to have a greater risk for internet addiction. A positive association was found between IA with unhealthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors among adolescents. The modification of lifestyle factors needs to be considered while developing strategies and interventions for awareness-raising and prevention of IA among adolescents.

Support for smoke-free policy among Malaysian adults: findings from a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Public opinion and support can be powerful mandates for smoke-free policy. However, the scarcity of evidence on public opinion among Malaysians necessitates further investigation. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the level of support for smoke-free policy at various public domains and its associated factors among Malaysian adults. DESIGN: Data were derived from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, Malaysia (GATS-M). GATS-M is a nationwide study that employed a multistage, proportionate-to-size sampling strategy to select a representative sample of 5112 Malaysian adults aged 15 years and above. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with support for smoke-free policy in selected public domains that is, workplaces, restaurants, bars, hotels, casinos, karaoke centres, public transport terminals and shopping centres. RESULTS: The level of support for enactment of a smoke-free policy at selected public domains varied from 37.8% to 94.4%, with the highest support was for gazetted smoke-free domains, namely, shopping centres (94.4%, 95% CI: 93.2% to 95.3%) and public transport terminals (85.2%, 95% CI: 83.3% to 86.9%). Multiple logistic regression revealed that non-smokers were more likely to support smoke-free policy at all domains. In addition, respondents who worked in workplaces with total or partial smoking restrictions were more likely to support a smoke-free policy ((total restriction adjusted OR (AOR): 14.94 (6.44 to 34.64); partial restriction AOR: 2.96 (1.138 to 6.35); non-restriction was applied as a reference). CONCLUSION: A majority of the Malaysian adult population supported the smoke-free policy, especially at gazetted smoke-free domains. Therefore, expansion of a total smoking ban to workplaces, restaurants, bars, hotels, casinos and karaoke centres is strongly recommended to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and to denormalise smoking behaviour.