The science of the total environment

The present study examined excessive Internet use of Taiwanese adolescents and a psychological aspect of users, sensation seeking, thus to differentiate motivation of Internet dependents and non-dependents. Seven hundred and fifty three Taiwanese high school students were selected using cluster sampling and 88 of them were categorized as Internet dependent users. Results indicated that Internet dependents spent more time on-line than non-dependents. While Internet dependents perceived significantly more negative Internet influences on daily routines, school performance, and parental relation than non-dependents, both Internet dependents and non-dependents viewed Internet use as enhancing peer relations. Making friends through the Internet has become a popular activity among adolescents, potentially leading to its excessive use. Internet dependents scored significantly higher on overall sensation seeking and disinhibition than Internet non-dependents. However, both groups did not differ in the life experience seeking subscale and thrill and adventure seeking subscale. This finding contradicts that of Lavin, Marvin, McLarney, Nola, and Scott [CyberPsychol. Behav. 2 (2000) 425]. Possible reasons for this discrepancy and for the relation between Internet dependence and disinhibition in Taiwanese adolescents are also discussed.

Sensation Seeking and Internet Dependence of Taiwanese High School Adolescents

PURPOSE To examine prevalence of refractive errors and its associated factors, such as body stature and educational level, among 19-year-old males in Seoul, Korea. METHODS A population-based cross-sectional study was performed in male subjects (n = 23,616; age = 19 years) who were normally resident in Seoul for male compulsory conscripts during the study period (2010). Refractive examination was performed with cycloplegia. Height, weight, and educational level were examined. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent less than -0.5 diopters (D) and high myopia less than -6.0 D. The association of myopia with body stature and educational level was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The prevalence of myopia in 19-year-old males in Seoul was 96.5%. The prevalence of high myopia was 21.61%. Body stature was not significantly associated with myopia. Four- to 6-year university students (odds ratio [OR] 1.69; P < 0.001) and 2 to 3-year college students (OR 1.68; P < 0.001) showed significantly higher risk for myopia than those with lower academic achievement (< high school graduation). CONCLUSIONS The 19-year-old male population in Seoul, Korea, demonstrated a very high myopic prevalence. Myopic refractive error was associated with academic achievement, not with body stature.

Prevalence of Myopia and its Association with Body Stature and Educational Level in 19-Year-Old Male Conscripts in Seoul, South Korea

Objectives We aimed to develop a systematic synthesis of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change, by synthesising studies’ characteristics, climate impacts, health outcomes and key findings. Design We conducted an overview of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change. We registered our review in PROSPERO (CRD42019145972). No ethical approval was required since we used secondary data. Additional data are not available. Data sources On 22 June 2019, we searched Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria We included systematic reviews that explored at least one health impact of climate change. Data extraction and synthesis We organised systematic reviews according to their key characteristics, including geographical regions, year of publication and authors’ affiliations. We mapped the climate effects and health outcomes being studied and synthesised major findings. We used a modified version of A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) to assess the quality of studies. Results We included 94 systematic reviews. Most were published after 2015 and approximately one-fifth contained meta-analyses. Reviews synthesised evidence about five categories of climate impacts; the two most common were meteorological and extreme weather events. Reviews covered 10 health outcome categories; the 3 most common were (1) infectious diseases, (2) mortality and (3) respiratory, cardiovascular or neurological outcomes. Most reviews suggested a deleterious impact of climate change on multiple adverse health outcomes, although the majority also called for more research. Conclusions Most systematic reviews suggest that climate change is associated with worse human health. This study provides a comprehensive higher order summary of research on health impacts of climate change. Study limitations include possible missed relevant reviews, no meta-meta-analyses, and no assessment of overlap. Future research could explore the potential explanations between these associations to propose adaptation and mitigation strategies and could include broader sociopsychological health impacts of climate change.

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/11/6/e046333.full.pdf

Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews.

Impact of heatwave on mortality under different heatwave definitions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The primary aim of this study was to examine associations between problematic Internet use, depression and sleep disturbance, and explore whether there were differential effects of problematic Internet use and depression on sleep disturbance. A total of 1772 adolescents who participated in the Shantou Adolescent Mental Health Survey were recruited in 2012 in Shantou, China. The Chinese version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was used to evaluate the prevalence and severity of Internet addiction. The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10), and other socio-demographic measures were also completed. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the mediating effect of problematic Internet use and depression on sleep disturbance. Among the participants, 17.2% of adolescents met the criteria for problematic Internet use, 40.0% were also classified as suffering from sleep disturbance, and 54.4% of students had depressive symptoms. Problematic Internet use was significantly associated with depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance. The correlation between depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance was highly significant. Both problematic Internet use (β = 0.014; Sobel test Z = 12.7, p < 0.001) and depression (β = 0.232; Sobel test Z = 3.39, p < 0.001) had partially mediating effects on sleep disturbance and depression was of greater importance for sleep disturbance than problematic Internet use. There is a high prevalence of problematic Internet use, depression and sleep disturbance among high school students in southern China, and problematic Internet use and depressive symptoms are strongly associated with sleep disturbance. This study provides evidence that problematic Internet use and depression have partially mediating effects on sleep disturbance. These results are important for clinicians and policy makers with useful information for prevention and intervention efforts.

/pdf/exploring-associations-between-problematic-internet-use-2dml7nuaun.pdf

Exploring Associations between Problematic Internet Use, Depressive Symptoms and Sleep Disturbance among Southern Chinese Adolescents

Impact of extreme high temperature on mortality and regional level definition of heat wave: a multi-city study in China.

Objective To use focus groups to understand barriers to glasses use among children in rural China. Methods Separate focus groups were conducted between December 17, 2007, and August 5, 2008, for the following 3 groups at each of 3 schools in rural China: children aged 14 to 18 years with myopia of less than −0.5 diopters in both eyes, those children's parents, and those children's teachers. Participants were also asked to rank their responses to questions about glasses use. The focus group transcripts were coded independently by 2 investigators using qualitative data management software. Results Respondents of all 3 types indicated that glasses purchase and wear should be delayed in children with early myopia and might be harmful to the eyes. Parents and students reported being uncertain about children's actual myopia status and whether glasses should be worn. Parents ranked their most common reason for not buying glasses as being “too busy with work,” whereas “too expensive” ranked low. Inconvenience was ranked as an important reason for not wearing glasses among all 3 student groups. “Accuracy of lens power” was the first-ranked requirement for glasses among all student groups, whereas “new and attractive styles” was ranked last by all. All 3 types of respondents believed that wearing glasses or failing to wear them might worsen myopia. Conclusions Educational programs are needed to address significant knowledge gaps in families and schools about glasses use in rural China. Cost and the need for attractive styles may not be significant barriers to use in this setting, raising the possibility of paying for such programs through cost recovery.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/articlepdf/425808/eeb05004_759_765.pdf

Attitudes of students, parents, and teachers toward glasses use in rural China.

Background and Objectives Changes in relative humidity, along with other meteorological factors, accompany ongoing climate change and play a significant role in weather-related health outcomes, particularly among children. The purpose of this review is to improve our understanding of the relationship between ambient humidity and child health, and to propose directions for future research. Methods A comprehensive search of electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, OvidSP and EBSCO host) and review of reference lists, to supplement relevant studies, were conducted in March 2013. All identified records were selected based on explicit inclusion criteria. We extracted data from the included studies using a pre-designed data extraction form, and then performed a quality assessment. Various heterogeneities precluded a formal quantitative meta-analysis, therefore, evidence was compiled using descriptive summaries. Results Out of a total of 3797 identified records, 37 papers were selected for inclusion in this review. Among the 37 studies, 35% were focused on allergic diseases and 32% on respiratory system diseases. Quality assessment revealed 78% of the studies had reporting quality scores above 70%, and all findings demonstrated that ambient humidity generally plays an important role in the incidence and prevalence of climate-sensitive diseases among children. Conclusions With climate change, there is a significant impact of ambient humidity on child health, especially for climate-sensitive infectious diseases, diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory system diseases, and pediatric allergic diseases. However, some inconsistencies in the direction and magnitude of the effects are observed.

/pdf/impact-of-ambient-humidity-on-child-health-a-systematic-26cdxa4ugx.pdf

Impact of ambient humidity on child health: a systematic review

Few studies examined the associations of meteorological factors with road traffic injuries (RTIs). The purpose of the present study was to quantify the contributions of meteorological factors to RTI cases treated at a tertiary level hospital in Shantou city, China. A time-series diagram was employed to illustrate the time trends and seasonal variation of RTIs, and correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were conducted to investigate the relationships between meteorological parameters and RTIs. RTIs followed a seasonal pattern as more cases occurred during summer and winter months. RTIs are positively correlated with temperature and sunshine duration, while negatively associated with wind speed. Temperature, sunshine hour and wind speed were included in the final linear model with regression coefficients of 0.65 (t = 2.36, P = 0.019), 2.23 (t = 2.72, P = 0.007) and −27.66 (t = −5.67, P < 0.001), respectively, accounting for 19.93% of the total variation of RTI cases. The findings can help us better understand the associations between meteorological factors and RTIs, and with potential contributions to the development and implementation of regional level evidence-based weather-responsive traffic management system in the future.

Yaogui Lu

Papers

Exploring Associations between Problematic Internet Use, Depressive Symptoms and Sleep Disturbance among Southern Chinese Adolescents

Impact of extreme high temperature on mortality and regional level definition of heat wave: a multi-city study in China.

Attitudes of students, parents, and teachers toward glasses use in rural China.

Impact of ambient humidity on child health: a systematic review

The association between meteorological factors and road traffic injuries: a case analysis from Shantou city, China.