| 1. |
- Grimby-Ekman, Anna, 1967, et al.
(author)
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Pain could negatively affect school grades - Swedish middle school students with low school grades most affected
- 2018
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In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2018 Grimby-Ekman et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Recurrent headache, abdominal and musculoskeletal pain are common in adolescents and it is therefore important to understand their impact on the transitional period from childhood to adulthood. However, studies of the prevalence over time and implications on educational outcomes are still limited, especially regarding multiple pain symptoms. The present study material consists of questionnaire surveys, completed in 2000 and 2008, including two study populations of 9th grade adolescents aged 15 living in West Sweden (n = 20 877). Pain symptoms and demographic variables were based on self-reports from the questionnaires, and school grades were obtained from Statistics Sweden after the student had finished their 9th grade. Between 2000 and 2008, the prevalence of abdominal pain increased among Swedish adolescents (largest increase in girls); the prevalence of headache increased only in girls; the prevalence of pain in upper body decreased only in boys. School grades were significantly lower among those with headache or abdominal pain. Among students with low school grades (10th percentile) the estimated difference between those having any of the symptoms or none were -27 school grade units (95% confidence interval for girls (-27.8; -26.0), for boys (-27.6; -25.5). Both symptoms being present pronounced the association. Low parental education increased the negative effect of symptoms on school grades, most pronounced in the group with the lowest grades. In conclusion, identification of pain symptoms may improve academic achievements, especially in students with multiple symptoms and with parents having low education. Further intervention studies are need.
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| 2. |
- Kim, Jeong-Lim, et al.
(author)
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Fish consumption and school grades in Swedish adolescents: a study of the large general population.
- 2010
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In: Acta Paediatrica. - 1651-2227. ; 99, s. 72-7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: To study the associations between fish intake and academic achievement as cognitive parameter among Swedish adolescents. METHODS: In 2000, a questionnaire including respiratory items, socioeconomic conditions and dietary information was mailed to all schoolchildren (n = 18 158), aged 15 and living in Västra Götaland region of Sweden. The questionnaire was returned by 10 837 subjects. One year later, the total school grades for each subject who had completed the questionnaire and who included their full personal identification number were obtained from the national registers. Multiple linear regression models were applied to evaluate the association between fish intake and academic grades among 9448 schoolchildren, while adjusting for potential confounders, e.g. parents' education. RESULTS: Grades were higher in subjects with fish consumption once a week compared with subjects with fish consumption of less than once a week (reference group) [increment in estimate 14.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 11.8-17.1]. Grades were even higher in subjects with fish consumption of more than once a week compared with the reference group (increment in estimate 19.9, 95% CI 16.5-23.3). In the model stratified for parents' education, there were still higher grades among subjects with frequent fish intake in all educational strata (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Frequent fish intake among schoolchildren may provide benefits in terms of academic achievement.
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| 3. |
- Kim, Jeong-Lim, et al.
(author)
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Trends in the prevalence of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema in 15 year old adolescents over an 8 year period
- 2014
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In: Respiratory Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 0954-6111. ; 108:5, s. 701-708
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Trends in prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases are still controversial, and rarely studied among adolescents at midpoint of puberty. Methods: In 2000, a questionnaire was mailed to adolescents (n = 18,158) attending 9th grade at school and living in Vastra Gotaland County, Sweden. Eight years later, the same questionnaire was mailed to adolescents (n = 21,651), using identical inclusion criteria as previously. Altogether, 10,837 adolescents completed the questionnaire in 2000 and 11,754 in 2008. Differences in prevalence of physician diagnosed asthma, asthma symptoms, rhinitis, and eczema between the periods were analyzed by Chi-square test. Multiple logistic regression models were performed to test for trends in prevalence of these diseases, adjusting for potential con-founders. Results: Physician diagnosed asthma and lifetime and current rhinitis were increased in 2008, while wheeze decreased (p < 0.05). Taking sex, foreign descent, body mass index, and parents' education into account, the prevalence of physician diagnosed asthma (OR 1.3 [95% CI 1.2-1.4]) and lifetime (1.7 [1.6-1.8]) and current rhinitis (1.5 [1.4-1.6]) had increased. Eczema had decreased (0.9 [0.8-0.98]). These trends were consistent in boys and girls, but more prominent in those with obesity. In physician diagnosed asthmatics, there was no change in wheeze, asthma symptoms, or asthma medication. Conclusions: The prevalence of physician diagnosed asthma has increased over the last decade, maybe due to combinations of changes in diagnostics and increased general awareness, rather than a real increase. Results showed an increase in rhinitis and a decrease in eczema. Obesity seems to have a modifying effect, which calls for further investigation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Åberg, Maria A I, 1972, et al.
(author)
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Fish intake of Swedish male adolescents is a predictor of cognitive performance.
- 2009
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In: Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). - : Wiley. - 1651-2227 .- 0803-5253. ; 98:3, s. 555-60
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: Fish intake is reported to positively influence cognitive performance in infants and the elderly. In a longitudinal cohort study, we evaluated how fish consumption related to later cognitive performance in healthy young male adolescents. METHODS: In 2000, all 15-year-olds (n = 18 158; 9260 males) in the western region of Sweden were requested to complete an extensive questionnaire with items on diseases, fish consumption and socioeconomic status. Questionnaire data from the male responders (n = 4792, response rate 52%) were linked with records on subsequent intelligence test performance at age 18 from the Swedish Military Conscription Register (n = 3972). Multivariate linear models were used to estimate associations between fish intake and cognitive performance, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: There was a positive association between the number of times having fish meals per week at age 15 and cognitive performance measured 3 years later. Fish consumption of more than once per week compared to less than once per week was associated with higher stanine scores in combined intelligence (0.58 units; 95% confidence interval 0.39, 0.76), in verbal performance (0.45; 0.27, 0.63) and in visuospatial performance (0.50; 0.31, 0.69). The association between fish consumption and the 3 intelligence scores was the same in lowly and highly educated groups. This indicates that education did not influence the association between the frequency of fish meals consumed and cognitive performance. CONCLUSION: Frequent fish intake at age 15 was associated with significantly higher cognitive performance 3 years later.
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