Background.Prolonged conflict and economic instability challenge the existing support networks in families and society places significant stress on both adults and adolescents. Exploring individual, family and social factors that increase the likelihood of or protect adolescents from negative outcomes are important to the development of evidence-based prevention and response programing in global settings.Objective.Examine the relationship between parent mental health and experience/perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) and adolescent behaviors, stigma, and school attendance. The relationship is further examined for differences by gender.Methods.Secondary analysis of data from an ongoing comparative effectiveness trial of a productive asset transfer program in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Results.Three hundred and eighty-eight adolescent and parent dyads were included in the analysis. The analysis demonstrated that parent mental health and IPV can have a negative impact their children's well-being and the impact is different for boys and girls, likely linked to gender roles and responsibilities in the home and community. Social relationships of adolescents, as reported through experienced stigma, were negatively impacted for both boys and girls. Parent report of symptoms of PTSD and depression had a stronger negative effect on girls’ outcomes, including experienced stigma, externalizing behaviors, and missed days of school than boys. For adolescent boys, their parent's report of IPV victimization/perpetration was associated with more negative behaviors at the 8-month follow-up assessment.Conclusion.The findings reinforce the critical importance of interventions that engage parents and their children in activities that advance health and improve relationships within the family.

Background: In France, rates of perinatal smoking are among the highest worldwide; however, perinatal smoking trajectories and associated factors have still not been adequately researched. Methods: Among women participating in the French nationally representative etude longitudinale française depuis l'enfance birth cohort (n = 15,540), perinatal smoking trajectories were estimated using group-based modelling. Associated characteristics were studied using multinomial logistic regression. Results: Four trajectories were identified: non-smokers (59%), quitters (20%), persistent moderate (12%) and persistent heavy (9%) smokers. Older age, being native French, low socioeconomic position, persistent psychological difficulties and alcohol use in pregnancy, lack of social support, partner's smoking, mistimed pregnancy, and child formula feeding at birth were associated with persistent heavy smoking. Most of these factors were also associated, but to a lesser extent, with persistent moderate smoking, except for age and migrant status, which had opposite effects. Women who successfully lost weight prior to pregnancy had higher levels of quitting smoking. Conclusion: Women's long-term smoking trajectories vary in terms of initial tobacco consumption level but also in relation to socio-demographic, psychological, behavioral and partner characteristics. Health professionals in contact with pregnant smokers should address perceived risks and benefits of smoking, including partner's smoking and weight-gain concerns.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate how stressful life events and social support relate to central adiposity in Southern Brazil.METHODS:Data included information from 802 participants in the 1982 Pelotas Birth Cohort that was collect in 2004-2005 and 2006. Stratifying by sex, we studied self-reported stressful life events during the year before 2004-2005 in relation to change in waist circumference between 2004-2005 and 2006 and waist-to-hip ratio in 2006, using both bivariate and multivariate linear regression models.RESULTS:In adjusted models, the experience of stressful life events during the year before 2004-2005 predicted a change in waist circumference in 2006 in men and a change in both waist-to-hip ratio in 2006 and waist circumference between 2004-2005 and 2006 in women. Men who experienced two or more stressful events had on average a one centimeter increase in their waist circumference between 2004-2005 and 2006 (β = 0.97, 95%CI 0.02-1.92), compared to those reporting no stressful events. For women, those who had one and those who had two or more stressful life events had over a 1 cm increase in their waist circumference from 2004-2005 to 2006 (β = 1.37, 95%CI 0.17-2.54; β = 1.26, 95%CI 0.11-2.40, respectively), compared to those who did not experience any stressful event. For both sexes, social support level was not significantly related to either waist-to-hip ratio or change in waist circumference, and it did not modify the association between stress and central adiposity.CONCLUSIONS:The experience of more than one stressful life event was associated with distinct indicators of central adiposity for men versus women.

Back Background ground Salinity, exacerbated by global environmental change and other phenomena, is a major challenge affecting densely populated river deltas around the world. One critical consequence of salinity is its effect on access to freshwater, crucial for drinking, hygiene, and other livelihood activities. To gain insight on the impacts and adaptation responses triggered by rising salinity, we conducted a multi-method study based in the Ganges river delta, in the region of southwest coastal Bangladesh. Methods Methods Data collection was conducted between May 2015 and January 2016. The study sites were three rural communities in the southwest coastal districts of Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat. Across the sites, we conducted 83 in-depth interviews with community members and non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives and six community focus groups. Additionally, we surveyed water resources and management practices pertaining to 25 households, and measured the salinity of 45 surface and groundwater sources over two seasons.

Research on the effects of fish oil on clinical symptoms and psychosocial functioning in people with psychosis has been inconsistent. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the available data on the effects of oral intake of fish oil on psychological functioning in patients with psychosis. Three online databases including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched to identify relevant studies published by April 2021. The exposure was oral fish oil supplementation. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) were our outcome measures. 17 randomized clinical trials involving 1,390 patients were included. No change in PANSS was observed following oral fish oil intake (Weighted Mean Difference (WMD): −0.87; 95% CI: −16.99, 15.26; P = 0.92). In a non-linear dose-response analysis, a significant inverse association was observed between < 10 weeks of fish oil supplementation and PANSS (WMD: −10; Pnon linearity = 0.02). Although analysis of 4 studies showed a non-significant reduction in BPRS after fish oil intake (WMD: −2.990; 95% CI: −6.42, 0.44; P = 0.08), a non-linear dose-response analysis revealed a significant inverse associations between dose (> 2200 mg/d) and duration of fish oil supplementation (<15 weeks) with BPRS score (WMD: −8; Pnon linearity = 0.04). Combined effect sizes from 6 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) showed significant increases in GAF after oral administration of fish oil (WMD: 6.66; 95% CI: 3.39, 9.93; P < 0.001). In conclusion, we did not find any significant changes in PANSS and BPRS scores following fish oil supplementation. Nevertheless, oral fish oil intake significantly contributed to improvement in GAF scores. This is the first meta-analysis to examine the effects of fish oil on the psychological functioning scores of PANSS, BPRS and GAF, simultaneously. Moreover, we carried out complete subgroup and dose-response analyses.