Search

Background: The linkage between sleep quality and weight status among teenagers has gained more attention in the recent literature and health policy but no consensus has been reached. Methods: Using both a propensity score method and multivariate linear regression for a cross-sectional sample of 2,113 teenagers, we analyzed their body mass index (BMI) in relation to sleep quality while controlling for family characteristics (household income, parent/guardian level of education, disability status, work night shift, and smoking) and individual factors (age, sex, regular exercise, smoking, employment, and feeling secure in the neighborhood). Sleep quality was assessed using 3 scales: difficulty in initiating sleep, difficulty in maintaining sleep, and non-restorative sleep, based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-defined insomnia. Results: Considering all 3 types of poor sleep quality, 20.9% of teenagers in Taiwan experienced some form of sleep problems. After adjusting for the other variables, 2 factors independently and statistically predicted sleep problems: current smoking and working night shifts by the head of the household. Teens experiencing difficulty in initiating sleep had higher BMIs ranging from 0.86 to 1.41 units. Conclusions: Efforts to address childhood obesity need to take into consideration sleep problems that are highly prevalent among teenagers. (Contains 3 tables.)

Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate (1) whether and (2) the extent to which Taiwanese older adults’ leisure time activity (LTA) trajectories mediated the potential association between their sociodemographic factors and their functional disability trajectories. Methods: Longitudinal data from four waves of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA), collected between 1996 and 2007, were used for analysis (N = 3,429). Parallel-process latent growth curve modeling was adopted to evaluate the process by which LTA mediated between sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education, self-rated health, comorbidities, and depression) and the outcome process of functional disabilities. Results: When mediated by baseline level of LTA, five sociodemographic factors—age, gender, education level, self-rated health, and number of comorbidities—had significant and negative mediating effects on baseline or change in functional disability, thus improving disability outcomes. However, four of the sociodemographic factors (age, education level, and number of comorbidities), when mediated through the rate of change in LTA, were found to have significant and positive mediating effects, which increased disability levels. The proportion of effects mediated by the LTA trajectory ranged from 0% to 194%. Discussion: The large proportion of effects mediated through the LTA process underlines the importance of LTA to public health policy and health programs for older adults. The study’s findings shed light on how to better target populations of older adults to promote an active lifestyle and achieve more successful aging in late life in Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives We aimed to identify disability trajectories and examine whether the predisposing, intra-individual, and extra-individual factors in the disablement process predicted different disability trajectories among older adults in Taiwan. Methods Data were from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA) Survey in 1996–2007 ( n = 3186). Disability trajectories for activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) were identified by using latent class growth curves modeling. Factors including demographics, health conditions, health behaviors, social relations, and use of assistive devices were significantly predicted different disability trajectories of older adults over the following 11 years by applying hierarchical logistic regression. Results Three disability trajectories – maintained function, progressive disability, and consistent disability – were identified. Predisposing factors such as younger age, more educational attainment, and better health conditions had protective effects of leading to a later healthier maintained function trajectory. Intra-individual factors such as engaging in leisure time activities (LTAs) were positively related to the maintained function trajectory but negatively related to the consistent disability trajectory; decreasing social networks was common to those on consistent disability trajectory; dissatisfaction with social support was noted in maintained function trajectory group. An extra-individual factor, using assistive devices, was significantly related to maintaining older adults’ disability levels, even for those who started disabled. Conclusions The findings suggested that predisposing, intra-individual, and extra-individual factors play different roles in the development of later disability trajectories. More educational attainment, better health conditions, active in LTAs, and using assistive devices might benefit the maintenance of functioning in Taiwanese older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity has become a major health risk in industrialized countries, with disturbed sleep identified as a correlate. This study used data drawn from Taiwan’s 2005 Social Development Trend Survey on Health and Safety and the propensity-score-matching method to shed light on gender-specific associations between sleep problems and obesity among 24,113 adults aged 20–64 years. The average increase in obesity prevalence among respondents with disrupted sleep was 1.85%, as compared to those who did not report disrupted sleep, with similar psycho-social attributes. Similarly, the prevalence of obesity among those who reported restless sleep was increased by an average of 1.40% compared to those who did not report restless sleep with similar psycho-social attributes. We also found gender-specific vulnerability to different types of sleep problems. Among men who reported disrupted sleep, we found a 3.12% increase in the prevalence of obesity. Among women exposed to restless sleep, the increase in obesity prevalence was 1.84%. The observed gender difference in the prevalence of increases in obesity may be attributed to gender-specific behavioral responses to poor sleep. With poor sleep, men may respond to hunger by overeating; women may respond by physical inactivity. Both can contribute to an elevated risk of obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]