Dataset Information

Sex differences in the association between educational level and specific domains of physical activity: a Brazilian cross-national survey.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To identify the association between educational level and physical activity (PA) in specific domains according to sex, among residents of 26 Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District.

Methods

This is a cross-national survey, with data obtained from the Telephone-based Surveillance of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases (VIGITEL), in 2017, conducted with individuals ≥ 18 years old (n = 53,034). The education level (classified as ≤ 4 years, 5 to 8 years, 9 to 11 years, and ≥ 12 years of education) and PA of participants (meeting PA recommendations and performing this active behaviour) in the commuting, domestic, leisure, and work domains were self-reported. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the data obtained from the survey.

Results

Males and females with higher education were less likely to meet PA recommendations (males: OR = 0.68 [95% CI 0.52-0.91]; females: OR = 0.41 [0.34-0.48]) and perform the active behaviour (males: OR = 0.73 [0.57-0.93]; females: OR = 0.27 [0.23-0.32]) in the domestic domain. In the work domain, the two outcomes were associated with education only for males, indicating that those with more years of education had less chance of meeting PA recommendations (OR_{9 to 11 years} = 0.61 [0.46-0.83]; OR_≥12 years = 0.21 [0.15-0.30]) and performing it (OR_{9 to 11 years} = 0.64 [0.49-0.84]; OR_≥12 years = 0.25 [0.18-0.34]). However, more years of education seemed to positively influence meeting PA recommendations (males: OR_9-11 years = 2.26 [1.79-2.87]; OR_≥12 years = 2.91 [2.28-3.72]; females: OR_5-8 years = 1.26 [1.04-1.54]; OR_9-11 years = 1.81 [1.52-2.16]; OR_≥12 years = 2.69 [2.25-3.22]) and practicing this behaviour (males: OR_5-8 years = 1.29 [1.01-1.63]; OR_9-11 years = 2.54 [2.04-3.17]; OR_≥12 years = 3.31 [2.64-4.16]; females: OR_5-8 years = 1.23 [1.03-1.46]; OR_9-11 years = 1.75 [1.51-2.01]; OR_≥12 years = 2.94 [2.53-3.40]) in leisure time for both sexes.

Conclusion

Education level appears to be an important determinant in the relationship with PA in its different domains, especially in the leisure and domestic domains, for both sexes.

SUBMITTER: Bertuol C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8731185 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Condom non-use among sexually active adolescents is a major cause of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. In order to promote condom use, it is essential to understand factors associated with condom non-use. AIM:Our aim was to evaluate sex differences and associated factors of condom non-use based on the nationally representative Brazilian National School Health Survey. METHODS:The study participants were 100,962 adolescents 13-18?years old, 9th graders from both public and private schools throughout Brazil. The following factors were considered as explanatory group variables for the outcome of condom non-use among adolescents: school and health service, sexual behavior, substance use, and self-reported body and health perception. Poisson regression model was performed. RESULTS:Of the total students, 28% (n?=?28,157) had had sexual intercourse at least once. (boys, 37.1%; girls, 19.5%). Of these, 69.2% had used condoms the last time they had intercourse (girls: 68%; boys: 69.9%). The variables associated with condom non-use for both sexes were not having accessed a health service or approached a health professional for health-related care; not having received pregnancy prevention counseling or guidance on AIDS or STI prevention at school; early sexual initiation; no additional contraception method; substance use; feeling alone; not being satisfied with their own body; feeling fat or thin; and poor self-reported health. The number of sexual partners was also associated with condom non-use; however, contrasting behavior was indicated between sexes. A higher number of sexual partners indicated less use of condoms among girls, while for boys, a higher number of sexual partners indicated higher condom use. CONCLUSION:High condom non-use appears to be associated with lack of health care access and sexual health education, poor sexual practices, substance use, and poor self-perception, indicating areas for health promotion programs.

Project description:BackgroundOlder women perform consistently poorer on physical performance tests compared to men. Risk groups for this "female disadvantage" in physical performance and it's development over successive birth cohorts are unknown. This is important information for preventive strategies aimed to enhance healthy aging in all older women. This study aims to longitudinal investigate whether there are risk groups for a more apparent female disadvantage and study its trend over successive birth cohorts.MethodsData of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) were used. All participants were aged 55-65 years at baseline. Longitudinal data of two birth cohorts with baseline measurements in 1992/1993 (n = 966, 24 year follow-up) and 2002/2003 (n = 1002, 12 year follow-up) were included. Follow-up measurements were repeated every three/four years. Cross-sectional data of two additional cohorts were included to compare ethnic groups: a Dutch cohort (2012/2013, n = 1023) and a Migration cohort (2013/2014, n = 478) consisting of migrants with a Turkish/Moroccan ethnicity.ResultsMixed model analysis showed that women aged 55 years and older had a lower age- and height-adjusted gait speed (-0.03 m/s; -0.063-0.001), chair stand speed (-0.05 stand/s; -0.071--0.033), handgrip strength (-14,8 kg; -15.69--13.84) and balance (OR = 0.71; 0.547-0.916) compared to men. The sex difference in handgrip strength diminished with increasing age, but remained stable for gait speed, chair stand speed and balance. In general, results were consistent across different, educational levels and Turkish/Moroccan ethnic groups and birth cohorts.ConclusionsThere is a consistent "female disadvantage" in physical performance among older adults, which remains stable with increasing age (except for handgrip strength) and is consistent across different educational levels, ethnic groups and successive birth cohorts. So, no specific risk groups for the female disadvantage in physical performance were identified. Preventive strategies aimed to enhance healthy aging in older women are needed and should target all older women.

Project description:BackgroundPast studies examining barriers to patient portal adoption have been conducted with a small number of patients and health care settings, limiting generalizability.ObjectiveThis study had the following two objectives: (1) to assess the prevalence of barriers to patient portal adoption among nonadopters and (2) to examine the association between nonadopter characteristics and reported barriers in a nationally representative sample.MethodsData from this study were obtained from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey. We calculated descriptive statistics to determine the most prevalent barriers and conducted multiple variable logistic regression analysis to examine which characteristics were associated with the reported barriers.ResultsThe sample included 4815 individuals. Among these, 2828 individuals (58.73%) had not adopted a patient portal. Among the nonadopters (n=2828), the most prevalent barriers were patient preference for in-person communication (1810/2828, 64.00%), no perceived need for the patient portal (1385/2828, 48.97%), and lack of comfort and experience with computers (735/2828, 25.99%). Less commonly, individuals reported having no patient portal (650/2828, 22.98%), no internet access (650/2828, 22.98%), privacy concerns (594/2828, 21.00%), difficulty logging on (537/2828, 18.99%), and multiple patient portals (255/2828, 9.02%) as barriers. Men had significantly lower odds of indicating a preference for speaking directly to a provider compared with women (odds ratio [OR] 0.75, 95% CI 0.60-0.94; P=.01). Older age (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02; P<.001), having a chronic condition (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.44-2.33; P<.001), and having an income lower than US $20,000 (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.11-2.34; P=.01) were positively associated with indicating a preference for speaking directly to a provider. Hispanic individuals had significantly higher odds of indicating that they had no need for a patient portal (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.24-2.05; P<.001) compared with non-Hispanic individuals. Older individuals (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.04-1.06; P<.001), individuals with less than a high school diploma (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.79-5.53; P<.001), and individuals with a household income of less than US $20,000 (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.88-4.11; P<.001) had significantly higher odds of indicating that they were uncomfortable with a computer.ConclusionsThe most common barriers to patient portal adoption are preference for in-person communication, not having a need for the patient portal, and feeling uncomfortable with computers, which are barriers that are modifiable and can be intervened upon. Patient characteristics can help predict which patients are most likely to experience certain barriers to patient portal adoption. Further research is needed to tailor implementation approaches based on patients' needs and preferences.

Project description:BackgroundA healthy diet can decrease the risk of several lifestyle diseases. From studying the health effects of single foods, research now focuses on examining complete diets and dietary patterns reflecting the combined intake of different foods. The main goals of the current study were to identify dietary patterns and then investigate how these differ in terms of sex, age, educational level and physical activity level (PAL) in a general Nordic population.MethodsWe used data from the seventh survey of the population-based Tromsø Study in Norway, conducted in 2015-2016. The study included 21,083 participants aged [Formula: see text] years, of which [Formula: see text] completed a comprehensive food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). After exclusion, the study sample included 10,899 participants with valid FFQ data. First, to cluster food variables, the participants were partitioned in homogeneous cohorts according to sex, age, educational level and PAL. Non-overlapping diet groups were then identified using repeated hierarchical cluster analysis on the food variables. Second, average standardized diet intake scores were calculated for all individuals for each diet group. The individual diet (intake) scores were then modelled in terms of age, education and PAL using regression models. Differences in diet scores according to education and PAL were investigated by pairwise hypothesis tests, controlling the nominal significance level using Tukey's method.ResultsThe cluster analysis revealed three dietary patterns, here named the Meat and Sweets diet, the Traditional diet, and the Plant-based- and Tea diet. Women had a lower intake of the Traditional diet and a higher preference for the Plant-based- and Tea diet compared to men. Preference for the Meat and Sweets diet and Traditional diet showed significant negative and positive trends as function of age, respectively. Adjusting for age, the group having high education and high PAL compared favourably with the group having low education and low PAL, having a significant lower intake of the Meat and Sweets and the Traditional diets and a significant higher intake of the Plant-based- and Tea diet.ConclusionsThree dietary patterns (Meat and Sweets, Traditional, and Plant-based- and Tea) were found by repeated clustering of randomly sampled homogeneous cohorts of individuals. Diet preferences depended significantly on sex, age, education and PAL, showing a more unhealthy dietary pattern with lower age, low education and low PAL.