Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-25DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.035
Laura Booi, Katie Bridgeman, Leanne Greene, Sarah Gregory, Hosanna An, Melissa Marquez, Francesca R Farina
{"title":"Exploring brain health awareness and dementia risk in young adults: A focus group study.","authors":"Laura Booi, Katie Bridgeman, Leanne Greene, Sarah Gregory, Hosanna An, Melissa Marquez, Francesca R Farina","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.035","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The topic of brain health across the life-course is currently receiving exponential attention. Alongside this, exposure to lifestyle-related risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias accumulates across the life-course. This study aimed to explore young adults' (18-39 years) perceptions and understanding of brain health and dementia risk.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This study employed a phenomenological descriptive qualitative methodology to examine the lived experiences and perceptions of participants.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Focus groups were conducted with 39 young adults (18 female, 2 non-binary) from North America (n = 20) and Europe (n = 19), conducted via video conference.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants' awareness and understanding of brain health and dementia risk factors varied, influenced by factors such as general health, family history of dementia, and personal experiences with brain health issues (e.g., traumatic brain injury). The data revealed rich insights into how participants connected (or did not connect) lifestyle factors to brain health and dementia risk.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study is among the first to explore young adults' perceptions of brain health across diverse populations. While participants demonstrated moderate awareness of factors affecting brain health, they often struggled to link these factors directly to dementia risk or protective measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"239 ","pages":"179-184"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143048447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.056
S Lukersmith, C Woods, H Sarma, C de Miquel, L Salvador-Carulla
{"title":"Determining the process components of impact assessment in health and social program implementation: A scoping review of theories, models and frameworks.","authors":"S Lukersmith, C Woods, H Sarma, C de Miquel, L Salvador-Carulla","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Health and social service research impact analysis play a pivotal role in demonstrating research value. Impact analysis of programs, interventions, or policies in real-world settings is complex. There are many implementation evaluation theories, models, and frameworks (TMF) and researchers find choosing one challenging. Our objective was to systematically scope TMFs, review and chart key components of the process of implementation impact analysis to identify gaps.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>A scoping review was undertaken and reported using PRISMA-ScR guidelines.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Systematic literature searches were conducted for impact analysis and impact assessment TMFs in MEDLINE, SCOPUS databases, hand searches, and expert directed search (2010-2024). Peer-reviewed articles were eligible for inclusion if they described an implementation evaluation TMF in English and used in the real world. Data extracted by the study team was charted in an Excel spreadsheet.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The review identified 71 relevant papers which included a theory (n = 6), model (n = 14), or framework (n = 51). Most considered resources and/or results, whereas only 25 % considered implementation process components. Ten frameworks were deemed comprehensive and covered at least two phases of implementation and five components. Most frameworks had not developed or tested practical tools to facilitate use of the framework.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>No frameworks were identified that incorporated all phases of implementation, nor key components of the process in each phase of implementation research. The findings highlight the need to identify key components and develop a taxonomy, glossary and tools to assess the process components of implementation in real world settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"41-47"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143042673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.015
Keita Wagatsuma
{"title":"Short-term effects of meteorological factors on the incidence of mumps: A nationwide time-series analysis in Japan.","authors":"Keita Wagatsuma","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Mumps (infectious parotitis) is an acute respiratory illness caused by the mumps virus in humans. While numerous studies have explored the impact of climate variability on mumps incidence in specific cities or regions, few have analyzed nationwide associations across multiple locations. This study aims to systematically assess the short-term effects of meteorological factors on mumps incidence across Japan over a 15-year period.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Weekly time-series of mumps cases and meteorological factors in the period 2005-2019 were collated from the 47 Japanese prefectures.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A two-stage time-series design was employed. The exposure-response relationships between incidence of mumps, mean temperature, and relative humidity were quantified using a quasi-Poisson regression with a distributed lag non-linear model for each prefecture and the estimates from all the prefectures were then pooled using a multivariate mete-regression model to derive nationwide average associations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between 2005 and 2019, 1,455,583 mumps cases were reported. Our results indicate that increased mean temperature and relative humidity are positively associated with increased mumps incidence in Japan. Specifically, using -1.3 °C as the reference temperature, the relative risk (RR) of mumps peaked at 19.4 °C, with an RR of 1.16 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.24). For humidity, using 45.5 % as the reference, the RR peaked at 68.3 %, with an RR of 1.05 (95 % CI: 1.02-1.09).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings demonstrate the influence of heat and humidity on mumps incidence in Japan and underscore the need for preventive measures to mitigate the impact of climate variability on mumps transmission.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"48-51"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143042801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.014
Paloma Martínez-Castañeiras, Cristina Ortiz, Nerea Fernandez de Larrea-Baz, Virginia Lope, Gary Sánchez-Gordón, Emma Ruiz-Moreno, Isabel Alonso, Esther Garcia-Esquinas, Beatriz Pérez-Gómez, Roberto Pastor-Barriuso, Iñaki Galán, Adela Castelló
{"title":"Intake of fruit, vegetables and pulses, and all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality: Results from a population-based prospective study.","authors":"Paloma Martínez-Castañeiras, Cristina Ortiz, Nerea Fernandez de Larrea-Baz, Virginia Lope, Gary Sánchez-Gordón, Emma Ruiz-Moreno, Isabel Alonso, Esther Garcia-Esquinas, Beatriz Pérez-Gómez, Roberto Pastor-Barriuso, Iñaki Galán, Adela Castelló","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this study was to explore the association of fruit, vegetable, and pulses consumption with all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This prospective study included 66,933 individuals from three Spanish health surveys linked to the national death registry up to December 2022.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Adjusted Poisson regression models were used to analyze the data, categorizing fruit, vegetable and pulses intake according to Spanish dietary recommendations and using splines to examine non-linear relationships.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>No clear association was found between pulses intake and mortality. Consuming fruits and vegetables ≥2 times/day reduced all-cause mortality risk by 20 % (95%CI = 10%-29 %) and 17 % (95%CI = 7%-26 %) respectively, compared with <3 times/week. Combined intake of fruits and vegetables from 1 to 1.99 to ≥5 times/day showed reductions in all-cause and CVD mortality ranging from 16 % (95%CI = 5%-26 %) to 30 % (95%CI = 20%-39 %), and from 25 % (95%CI = 5%-41 %) to 35 % (95%CI = 14%-50 %), respectively, compared with <1 time/day. No additional benefits against all-cause and CVD mortality for intakes of fruits over 2-3 times/day, but gradual reductions in mortality risk for vegetable intake of 2-5 times/day were observed. Combined intake showed protection up to intakes of 10 times/day, notably for CVD mortality. Associations were similar but weaker for cancer mortality.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study suggests that significant benefits of fruits and, specially, vegetables intake might go beyond the recommended five servings a day. Confirmation of these results could lead to specific dietary recommendations to prevent chronic diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"239 ","pages":"169-178"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143042667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.010
Na Xiao, Menghao Yang, Lingli Zhang, Ruixia Wang, Jing Chen
{"title":"Preferences for breast cancer screening: Results of a discrete choice experiment.","authors":"Na Xiao, Menghao Yang, Lingli Zhang, Ruixia Wang, Jing Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to assess the preferences of breast cancer patients in China for screening services using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and latent class modeling (LCM). The findings are intended to inform the development of more patient-centered screening programs.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>A cross-sectional, hospital-based survey employing discrete choice experiment methodology.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 278 breast cancer patients were recruited from the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery at a tertiary hospital in Guizhou Province. The study evaluated key attributes of screening services, including screening frequency, medical staff experience, referral sources, and out-of-pocket costs, through a DCE questionnaire. A mixed logit model was applied to assess overall patient preferences, while LCM was used to explore heterogeneity among patient subgroups. The development of the DCE questionnaire involved focus group discussions to ensure the relevance of attributes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis revealed that screening frequency, medical staff experience, and out-of-pocket costs were the most significant factors influencing patient preferences. Patients exhibited a strong preference for annual screenings (β = -1.622, p < 0.001) and for screening by experienced medical staff (β = 2.216, p < 0.001). Additionally, lower out-of-pocket costs significantly enhanced willingness to participate (β = -0.211, p < 0.05). LCM analysis identified two distinct patient subgroups: \"process-driven\" patients, who prioritized lower costs and multi-channel referral options, and \"efficiency-driven\" patients, who valued timely service and experienced staff.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study emphasizes the diverse preferences of breast cancer patients for screening services and suggests that personalized screening programs could better meet the needs of different patient subgroups. Developing flexible, patient-centered screening programs will be essential to improving participation and satisfaction with breast cancer screening in China. Practical challenges in implementing such personalized approaches should be considered in future policy development.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"33-40"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143042691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.057
J Stephan, J Gehrmann, J C Dehner, A Stullich, M Richter
{"title":"Development and validation of the eHealth Literacy and Use Scale (eHLUS) to measure medical app literacy.","authors":"J Stephan, J Gehrmann, J C Dehner, A Stullich, M Richter","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to develop and validate the eHealth Literacy and Use Scale (eHLUS), a German assessment tool designed to measure health literacy in the context of using medical apps. This scale enhances traditional eHealth literacy tools by focusing on the unique requirements of medical app use, such as integration into everyday life, and self-efficacy.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This study employed a mixed-method design.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The development of the eHLUS involved a thorough literature review, expert interviews, and psychometric evaluation in a real-world environment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The eHLUS, consisting of 14 items across three dimensions, was designed for a nuanced assessment of eHealth literacy in medical apps. Psychometric evaluation data were gathered from 127 participants at two time points (n<sub>t1</sub> = 117; n<sub>t2</sub> = 62). The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.913 and a McDonald's omega of 0.911. A mean completion time of 2.2 min underscores its practical applicability. Retest reliability was confirmed in 52 matched cases, affirming the scale's stability. Principal component analysis revealed three dimensions: autonomous use and technical access, eHealth engagement, and eHealth literacy.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings demonstrate the suitability of eHLUS for assessing individuals' abilities to effectively use medical apps, highlighting its importance in research and healthcare. The evaluation of the scale, along with expert interviews, underscores both its necessity and feasibility. The eHLUS captures eHealth literacy and its associated determinants within the context of medical app use, contributing to the optimization of patient care.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"27-32"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143042688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.024
Isabella Vitral Pinto, Fátima Marinho, Deborah Carvalho Malta
{"title":"Risk of mortality by aggression: A retrospective cohort study in women with notification of interpersonal violence in Brazil.","authors":"Isabella Vitral Pinto, Fátima Marinho, Deborah Carvalho Malta","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The present study investigated the incidence of mortality by aggression in women who experienced interpersonal violence. The study also aimed identify whether intimate partner violence (IPV) was associated with the risk of death by aggression.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>This was a population-based retrospective cohort study linking data from the National Disease Notification System and the Mortality Information System.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study population included women, aged 15-59 years, with notification of interpersonal violence in a 1-year period. Data were also collected on deaths by any cause within 2 years of notification of interpersonal violence in the study population. For survival analysis, this study used the following two approaches: (1) specific risk by aggression; and (2) the subdistribution of risks. In addition, the Cox and Fine-Gray models were used to verify if IPV was associated with the risk of death by aggression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This study identified 117,743 women, aged 15-59 years, with notification of interpersonal violence. In total, 818 of the study population died within 2 years of notification. The cumulative incidence at the end of 2 years was 0.003; thus, a mortality rate of approximately 300 deaths/100,000 women who had experienced interpersonal violence. In the two survival analysis approaches, IPV showed no significant association with death by aggression. Only the 'Black and Others' ethnic group was associated with death by aggression, with a 33 % increase in the death rate (hazard ratio [HR] 1.33; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.08-1.65).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results of this study highlight the impact of ethnic group on the risk of death among women experiencing interpersonal violence. Intersectoral coordination strategies are required to promote early detection of violence and comprehensive care.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"12-17"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143030163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.005
Filipe Prazeres
{"title":"Nationwide study on multimorbidity prevalence: 7.64 million primary healthcare users in Portugal with multiple chronic conditions.","authors":"Filipe Prazeres","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The goal of this study was to explore the prevalence of multimorbidity, its geographic variation, and changes from 2022 to 2024 in Portugal.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Information regarding the chronic health conditions active in the primary healthcare patients' health problems lists on the electronic health records are derived from the digital platform Identity Card of Primary Healthcare (Bilhete de Identidade dos Cuidados de Saúde Primários, BI CSP) data for the period of 2022 and 2024.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>BI CSP nationwide data from May 2024 of the 10,366,861 registered users in Portuguese primary healthcare were used to determine the prevalence of multimorbidity (presence of 2 or more chronic health conditions) and analize differences to 2022.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>By May 2024, 73.7 % of the population (7.64 million out of 10.37 million registered users in primary healthcare) were living with multimorbidity, indicating a 4.7 % increase from 2022. The most common chronic conditions in 2024 included lipid disorders, hypertension, obesity, and tobacco abuse. Regionally, multimorbidity exceeded 65 % in all zones, with the North (78.9 %) and Alentejo (78.3 %) regions having the highest rates. The prevalence increased across all regions, with the North region showing the smallest increase from 2022 to 2024.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The prevalence of multimorbidity in Portugal is increasingly high across all the regions considered. Additional studies will be helpful in determining the extent to which the now-reported high prevalence of multimorbidity will impact the healthcare system in Portugal.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"18-20"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143030158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.052
J O'Connell
{"title":"How is health considered in urban transport planning? A review of the literature.","authors":"J O'Connell","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.12.052","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Urban transport is an important determinant of population health. Ensuringi health is well considered in urban transport planning is important to create healthy cities, healthy populations and sustainable societies. This review aimed to describe how health is considered in urban transport planning.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>A narrative literature review was conducted.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eligible literature included research articles, review articles, perspective articles, policy reports and technical reports published in English since 2013. PubMed, the Transport Research Integrated Database and grey literature sources were searched.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventy articles were included, predominantly from high-income countries. Findings indicated that while urban transport is well recognised as a determinant of health, health considerations are often underprioritized in urban transport planning. Key issues identified included systemic power imbalances favouring car-orientated planning, insufficient legislative frameworks to promote health, the non-holistic assessment of health impacts in established environmental assessment processes, transport appraisal methodologies which undervalued health and differences between the health and planning professions in their preferred sources of evidence with associated challenges in knowledge translation. A consistent theme in the literature was that a strategic approach needed to be taken to improve how health is considered in urban transport planning and central to this was building relationships to enable collaborative and partnership working.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Health was poorly considered in urban transport planning. Contributing issues related to power, legislation, impact assessment and knowledge translation. A strategic approach is important to address these issues.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"21-26"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143030078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public HealthPub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.004
Lorena Botella-Juan, Daniela Vargas-Caraballo, Antonio José Molina, Natalia Hernández-Segura, Tania Fernández-Villa
{"title":"Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption in young adults: A systematic review.","authors":"Lorena Botella-Juan, Daniela Vargas-Caraballo, Antonio José Molina, Natalia Hernández-Segura, Tania Fernández-Villa","doi":"10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented restrictions, leading to differences in the frequency and patterns of alcohol consumption, especially among young adults. This systematic review aims to investigate the overall evidence concerning changes in alcohol consumption in this period.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Systematic review.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Adhering to PRISMA and SWiM guidelines, this study's review protocol is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023464591). The studies research was carried out in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria involved observational studies focusing on participants aged 18 to 35, exploring alcohol consumption during at least the first wave of COVID-19, and publications in English or Spanish.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 28 studies conducted in different countries were included, European (18), North American (9), and Latin American (1). Although in many studies the overall prevalence of alcohol use was reduced, it was mainly among occasional users, in which the main motivation was the lack of social contact. It was exposed that participants with a high risk of problematic use increased their alcohol consumption, showing associated factors such as poor mental health, depressive symptoms, stress, and coping motivations. Males generally exhibited a higher risk of problem use and risky behaviours than females.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>During COVID-19, youth alcohol consumption decreased overall, especially among social drinkers, but increased among high-risk users due to factors like distress and loneliness. Similar trends during other disasters emphasize the importance of addressing high-risk drinking in disaster planning. Also, preventing high-risk drinking from adolescence and youth could be helpful in reducing the global burden and impact of alcohol consumption.</p>","PeriodicalId":49651,"journal":{"name":"Public Health","volume":"240 ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143030154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}