Health-related risky behaviors and their risk factors in adolescents with high-functioning autism

BACKGROUND Health-related risky behaviors generally refer to behaviors that have a negative impact on health and quality of life.Health-related risky behaviors in adolescents with high-functioning autism(HFA)have not been well understood so far.Adolescents with HFA may have more health-related risky behaviors than neurotypical adolescents.AIM To investigate health-related risky behaviors and their risk factors with HFA.METHODS This is an observational study.Our study enrolled 110 adolescents aged 12-19-years-old meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition criteria for HFA.They were recruited from Peking University Sixth Hospital.There were also 110 age,sex and nationality matched controls enrolled who came from a public school in Beijing,China.Both groups completed the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory.Nonparametric tests were carried out for comparison of the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory scores between the two groups.Expression recognition,the Inventory of Subjective Life Quality for Child and Adolescent,Chinese Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children,Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adult-Chinese Revised,Theory of Mind test and Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire were assessed in the autism group to explore factors associated with health-related risky behaviors.Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to explore the risk factors of health-related risky behaviors in the HFA group.RESULTS The results showed that the total score of the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory and scores of“aggression and violence,”“suicide and selfinjury,”“health compromising behavior”and“unprotected sex”subscales in the HFA group were significantly higher than those in the control group(Z range-4.197 to-2.213,P<0.05).Among the associated factors,poor emotional experience(B=-0.268,P<0.001),depression(B=-0.321,P<0.001),low score of intelligence(B=-0.032,P=0.042),low score of Theory of Mind test(B=-1.321,P=0.003)and poor adaptation to school life(B=-0.152,P=0.006)were risk factors.These risky behaviors may promote the occurrence of health-related risky behaviors in adolescents with HFA.CONCLUSION This study showed that adolescents with HFA were more likely to be involved in health-related risky behaviors.Different health-related risky behaviors have different reasons.

Childhood Adversity Phenotypes and Risky Health Behaviors among Chinese Adolescents: Extending the Concept of Adversity

ObjectiveTo present an approach to phenotyping ACEs and explore the association between ACEs and adolescent health risky behaviors based on the social context of China.Methods Totally,5,726 adolescents aged 12-18 years were investigated about their ACEs in the family,peer,school,and personal domains and the occurrence of six types of risky health behaviors(i.e.,smoking,drinking,sexual intercourse,self-harm,and suicidal ideation and attempts).Latent class analysis(LCA)was used to explore the ACE patterns.Results Six latent classes of ACEs were identified,including low adversity,school adversity,school adversity and peer victimization,peer victimization,maltreatment and peer victimization,and high adversity,and associated with risky health behaviors in adolescents.Being physically punished by a teacher,experiencing sexual abuse,and experiencing family trauma most strongly differentiated from the six AcE classes and were correlated with an increased risk for risky adolescent health behaviors.ConclusionThis study supports a positive association between ACEs and risky adolescent health behaviors.Peer victimization,school adversity and associated contexts need to be considered in future ACEstudies.

Study of HIV Prevalence and Behaviors in Rural Areas of Goudomp Health District (Senegal)

This study aims to determine the factors related to HIV-positive status in people aged 15 to 49 years of age in the commune of Niagha in Goudomp. The study was descriptive and analytically cross-cutting and had taken place in a release of 2018. The data was collected on anonymous questionnaires and then analyzed using R software after entering with Epi 7 software. Bivariate analyses and logistical modelling have been used to investigate the factors associated with HIV status. The sample included 400 people, and a participation rate of 100% was obtained in relation to the administration of the questionnaire. For the detection of HIV infection, 318 people agreed to do so, a proportion of 79.7%. The average age of the respondents was 27.8 years with a standard deviation of 9.1 and extremes of 15 to 49 years. 21.5% of respondents were under 20 years of age, the median was 26 years. With 58.8% of women, the sex ratio (M/F) was 0.7. In this study, 11.5% of respondents did not believe in the existence of HIV infection, 92.0% were sexually active, and 40.5% had sex with casual partners. The main places for casual sex were cultural events (84.0%), weekly markets (53.1%), religious events (27.8%) and during travel (22.8%). Among them, only 20 respondents, or 12.3%, declared that they systematically protect themselves with a condom during these occasional sexual relations. This wearing of condoms was found in 20.7% of singles and 10.7% of married couples having casual sex. In this study, 60.0% of the respondents declared that they had paid for sex, although this practice is not cited in income-generating activities. Non-consensual sex was found in 6.5% of the respondents. In this study, 319 people agreed to be tested for HIV, or 79.7% of the sample. HIV infection was found in 19 people, 6.0% seroprevalence, with 16 cases of HIV 1 infection and three cases of HIV 2 infection. Several risk behaviors were found in this study. However, none of them had a statistically significant link to HIV seropositivity. The prevalence of HIV infection in Niagha common is very high compared to data from the Sedhiou region and national level. Risky sexual behaviors are found in this population with no statistically significant link to HIV. Studies with a mixed approach would be more appropriate to study these relationships.

Relationship between Migration and HIV Risky Behavior: a Comparative Study of Returning Migrants and Non Migrants Based on Rural Out-of-school Youth in Jilin, China

Objective To estimate the relationship between migration and HIV risky behavior when controlling for gender, age, and educational levels and to evaluate the gender differences in migration, HIV knowledge, and HIV risky behaviors among rural youth in China. Methods A cross-sectional, anonymous, investigative questionnaire for 1710 unmarried, out-of-school rural youth, aged between 15 and 24 years, was handed out in Gongzhuling county of Jilin province, China. Results 58.5% of participants had a history of migration, irrespective of gender. There were gender differences observed in other factors such as drug abuse（4.3% for males and 5.5% for females, P〈0.01）, multiple sexual partners（24.1% for males and 44.1% for females, P〈0.01）, and HIV knowledge rate（35.2% for males and 25.5% for females, P〈0.001）. While controlling for gender, age, and educational levels, the relationships between migration and drug abuse, selling sex, and non usage of condoms during last instance of sexual activity were found to be significant. The cases of premarital sex and multiple sexual partners were both not found to be related to migration. Conclusion Among rural youth, the HIV risky behavior such as drug abuse, selling sex, and lack of condom use, is significantly related to migration, while premarital sex and multiple sexual partners seem unrelated to migration.

Risky Sexual Behavior and Its Determinants among Orphan and Vulnerable Children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Back Ground: Risky sexual behavior among orphans and vulnerable children and its associated physical, psychological and social consequences is becoming a major public health concern globally. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of risky sexual behavior and its determinants among orphan and vulnerable children in Addis Ababa. Methodology: A community based cross sectional study was conducted on three support and care giving organizations for orphans and vulnerable children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from March to June 2014. A total of 422 orphan and vulnerable children were selected using systematic sampling. Data were collected using pre tested self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Result: A total of 407 (96.4%) respondents participated in this study. Among them 112 (27.5%) had sexual intercourse in their life time, of these 50 (44.6%) started sex before the age of 15, 94 (83.9%) had forced sex, 84 (75.0%) had multiple sexual partners, only 16 (14.3%) used condom the first time they had sex and 96 (85.7%) participated in transactional sex. Females were about 3.25 (2.67 - 7.3) times more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than male respondents, double orphans had 4.32 (2.45 - 9.54) odds of risky sexual behavior compared to their counterparts. Those respondents who had knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention were less likely to be involved in risky sexual behavior 0.58 (0.41 - 0.93). Conclusion: Orphan and vulnerable children are at a higher likelihood of risky sexual behavior. Intervention targeted at multilevel such as orphan survival training, assertive communication skills, sexuality education and education about HIV risk perception, physical, psychological and human right protection, social support, and economic access for basic needs need to be given consideration.

Association of risky driving behavior with psychiatric disorders among Iranian drivers:A case-control study

Purpose:This study aimed to investigate the possible association between psychological disorders and riskydriving behavior(RDB)in Iran.Methods:This case-control study conducted in Shiraz,Iran in 2021.The case group included drivers with psychological disorders and the control group included those without any disorders.The inclusion criteria for selecting patients were:active driving at the time of the study,being 18-65 years old,having a driving license,having a psychological disorder including depression,bipolar disorder,anxiety spectrum disorder,or psychotic disorder spectrum confirmed by a psychiatrist,and completing an informed consent form.The exclusion criterion was the existence of conditions that interfered with answering and understanding the questions.The inclusion criteria for selecting the healthy cases were:active driving at the time of the study,being 18-65 years old,having a driving license,lack of any past or present history of psychiatric problems,and completing an informed consent form.The data were gathered using a researcher-made checklist and Manchester driving behavior questionnaire.First,partition around medoids method was used to extract clusters of RDB.Then,backward logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between the independent variables and the clusters of RDB.Results:The sample comprised of 344(153 with psychological disorder and 191 without confirmed psychological disorder)drivers.Backward elimination logistic regression on total data revealed that share of medical expenditure≤10%of total household expenditure(OR=3.27,95%Cl:1.48-7.24),psychological disorder(OR=3.08,95%Cl:1.67-5.70),and substance abuse class(OR=6.38,95%CI:3.55-11.48)wereassociatedwithhighlevelof RDB.Conclusion:Substance abuse,psychological illnesses,and share of medical costs from total household expenditure were found to be main predictors of RDB.Further investigations are necessary to explain the impact of different psychological illnesses on driving behavior.

National trends in sexual intercourse and usage of contraception among Korean adolescents

Background The exact influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual intercourse and usage of contraception remains largely uncharted territory.To bridge this gap in knowledge,we conducted a comprehensive,cross-sectional examination of long-term trends in the prevalence of sexual intercourse and usage of contraception among South Korean adolescents from 2006 to 2022.Methods In our research,we drew upon data encompassing 1,138,799 South Korean adolescents aged 12 to 18 years,derived from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey(KYRBS)over a period spanning from 2006 to 2022.We focused on the prevalence of sexual intercourse,contraception utilization,and the underlying associated factors among this demographic.The KYRBS data was collected using a complex sampling strategy to determine the national prevalence estimates and shifts in prevalence before(2006-2019)and during(2020-2022)the COVID-19 pandemic era.Results During the pre-pandemic period,a decrease in adolescent sexual intercourse was observed(6.34%in 2006,5.53%in 2012,and 5.87%in 2019).However,in the post-pandemic period(2020-2022),there was a surge in sexual intercourse(4.55%in 2020 and 6.20%in 2022).This evident alteration in sexual intercourse trajectory between pre-and post-pandemic periods was statistically significant[βdiff,0.950;95%confidence interval(CI),0.756-1.144].Regarding contraceptive use among South Korean adolescents,there was an increase in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic phase across all demographic segments(14.61%in 2006,22.30%in 2012,and 47.69%in 2022)but a notable decline when compared with the pre-and post-pandemic periods(βdiff,-0.319;95%CI,-0.454 to-0.184).Additionally,during the study period,a decrease in sexual intercourse was observed in the pre-pandemic period(β,-0.129;95%CI,-0.148 to-0.110),followed by an increase in the post-pandemic period(β,0.821;95%CI,0.627 to 1.014).This shift is highlighted by an effect size of 0.96[weighted odds ratio(wOR);95%CI,0.92 to 1.00],indicating a substantial change in adolescent sexual behaviors across study periods.Conclusions The increase in sexual intercourse and decrease in usage of contraception observed in our study between the pre-and post-COVID-19 periods suggests a potential threat to sexual health among South Korean adolescents.This trend emphasizes the ongoing necessity of raising awareness about adolescent sexual behavior in South Korea.

Economic Development, Risky Sexual Behavior, and AIDS Epidemics--Theory and Evidence

In this paper, we present a simple theoretical model to investigate how economic development affects AIDS epidemics through its influence on individuals＇ sexual behavior, building on the literature on economic growth with endogenous mortality concern. We employ provincial data from China on the incidence rate of AIDS between 2002 and 2008 to test the theoretical predictions. The findings are： （1） a rise in personal income/wealth induces more safe sexual activities and reduces the prevalence of AIDS; and （2） increases in public health expenditure do not have a significant positive impact on individuals＇ preference of risky sexual activity over safe sexual activity.

The Internet May Encourage Risky Sexual Behavior

“网恋”,作为一个新名词,始见于报端。“网恋”,似乎以悲剧或失败告终者居多。本文让我们大吃一惊: Over 80% of those questioned reported having Internet access, and almost35% of these men said they went online to seek a sexual partner, the majorityreporting they did so more than once. …seeking sex on the Internet was generally associated with high-risk sexualbehavior。 我的儿子,每日上网,近来成绩迅速下跌,此文引起我的思考:Interntrepresent a new risk environment?】