Introduction: Although the past studies have presented differences between sleep duration and health-related behavior, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have considered the different dimensions of adolescent health-related behavior according to gender. The current study aims to investigate the association between sleep duration and health-related behavior in both genders. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a college in southern Taiwan. We used convenience sampling and invited all undergraduate full-time students in their 3^rd year to participate in this study in 2014. There were three parts in our questionnaire, including participant's characteristics, the Adolescent Health Promotion (AHP) scale, and medication consumption habits. The participants were classified into two groups according to their sleep duration (<7 h vs. ≥7 h). We examined the predictors of sleep duration through the use of logistic regression analysis with the six AHP dimensions and unsafe medicine consumption habits as independent variables, respectively. Results: Using our whole sample, sufficient sleep duration was associated with higher AHP scores on nutrition and stress management and less unsafe medicine consumption habits (P < 0.05). For both males and females, sleeping more than 7 h was associated with better stress management (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Students whose sleeping duration was ≥7 h had a greater tendency to have good nutritional behavior and stress management behavior than those whose sleeping duration was <7 h. Moreover, students with insufficient sleep may have a significantly greater tendency to have unsafe medicine consumption habits.

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Introduction: Despite the importance of the family food insecurity during pregnancy, there was no research in this regard in Iran, where generally has a modest food security status. The present study was designed to investigate the prevalence of household insecurity in pregnant women and found its relationship with pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and anemia during pregnancy. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2016 and December 2017. Samples were women after childbirth referred to health centers for postpartum care in the Qazvin province. The household food security status (using Household Food Insecurity Access Scale) and pregnancy outcomes including preeclampsia, diabetes during pregnancy, and anemia during pregnancy were investigated. Results: Overall food insecurity was observed in 32.3% of participants. The increased chance of having a total pregnancy complication rate was 64% (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidential interval [CI]] = 1.64 [1.06–2.54]) in food insecure group compared to food secure participants. Specifically, gestational hypertension was 24% (OR [95% CI] = 1.24 [0.58–2.69]), preeclampsia was nearly four times (OR [95% CI] = 3.88 [1.18–12.83]), gestational anemia was 24% (OR [95% CI] = 1.24 [0.58–2.71]), and gestational diabetes was 63% (OR [95% CI] =1.63 [0.81–3.30]). Conclusion: Food insecurity might increase the likelihood of pregnancy complications. Since the pregnant women's diet plays an important role in maternal and fetal health, the assessment of maternal nutritional status and household conditions regarding access to food supplies and the ability to supply diverse and balanced foods during pregnancy is important.

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Introduction: The aim of this study was first to estimate the prevalence of having self-harm behavior and suicidal ideation in a sample of military personnel. Second, we examined whether work stress, sexual harassment experiences, and depression were associated with suicidal ideation and self-harm behavior. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Taiwan between January and April 2016. Sample was recruited from large military bases in Taiwan, including army, navy, and air force using convenience sampling. Self-reported data on job stress, sexual harassment experiences, self-harm behavior, and suicidal ideation were collected. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors associated with having had self-harm behavior or suicidal ideation. Results: Of 513 individuals surveyed, 4.5% had self-harm behavior in the past 12 months and 9% had considered suicide. The majority of the sample were male (81.9%), between 20 and 29 years old (87.7%), voluntary military service (79.7%), and single or not married (90.8%). A higher level of sexual harassment experiences, higher level of perceived work stress, interpersonal relationship, and a lower level of job satisfaction were associated with self-harm behaviors. In multivariate analysis, gender, education, perceived work stress, sexual harassment, and depression were significantly associated with having had considered suicide in the past 12 months. Discussion: Our study highlighted the importance of acknowledging the vulnerability of the military work environment, including self-harming tendencies and sexual harassment. Education and training to ensure gender equality should be provided through appropriate channels.

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Introduction: Children with hearing impairment (HI) often encounter difficulties in learning due to their language problems caused by HI. Therefore, children with HI also suffer from health problems, including psychological health, social relationship, and school performance. Given that the International Classification of Function, Disability, and Health proposed environment as a key element in promoting health. This study proposed to investigate the impacts of environmental support on health and learning abilities among a nationally representative sample with HI. Methods: A total of 163 children (94 boys; 88 first graders and 75 third graders) retrieved from the Special Needs Education Longitudinal Study were used for analysis. Questionnaire items on environmental support (3 items), impairment (1 item), learning ability (4 items), and health (4 items) were constructed in a structural equation model. Specifically, environmental support was linked to impairment, learning ability, and health; impairment was linked to learning ability and health. Results: Our results indicated that environmental support had positive effects on three dimensions of health (social relationship, β = 0.38; emotional functioning, β = 0.27; and school performance, β = 0.59) and learning ability (β = 0.26); negative effects on impairment (β = −0.62). Impairment had negative impacts on two dimensions of health (physical fitness and school performance, β = −0.18 and −0.22, respectively) and learning ability (β = −0.29). Conclusions: According to our findings, health-care professionals and school teachers may consider establishing good environmental support for children with HI. Thus, children with HI may have improved health and learning abilities.

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Introduction: Suicide in children and young adolescents up to 14 years of age has been increased in many countries. This study aimed to determine the incidence, gender difference, timing difference, and cause of suicide attempts among children and teenagers in Qazvin Province, Iran, between 2007 and 2012. Methods: A descriptive-analytic study was performed in a register-based manner. In total, 2771 children and teenagers with suicide attempts who were referred to urban or rural health centers, hospitals, and legal medicinal centers in Qazvin Province were recruited. The residential background, the cause of suicide attempts, and the nature of the suicide acts were assessed. Results: Among all the children who had suicide attempts, 32.12% were male and 67.88% were female (sex ratio 0.47). Most of the suicide cases happened in autumn, and 786 (28.37%) were between 20:00 and 24:00 h. Swallowing poisonous drugs was the most prominent suicide methods, while hanging was the most dangerous method. In addition, familial dispute was the leading cause of suicide. Conclusion: It is a largely complex issue why some children attempt or commit suicide. The understanding of the pattern of suicide can help us provide suitable preventive programs.

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Introduction: Little is known about the profile of health-promoting behaviors in Taiwanese adolescent athletes. We codesigned a school-based extracurricular club with the adolescent athletes and aimed to examine the effect of program on the health-promoting behaviors among the participants. Methods: We recruited a sample of 40 athlete students: 20 participants from the health promotion club (intervention group) and 20 comparisons from other extracurricular clubs (control group). The content of health promotion program contained a wide array of health issues, such as growth, nutrition, sport injury, and life resuscitation. Certified physicians and physiotherapists provided lectures, workshops of experimentation, and forums of group discussion. We compared the health-promoting behaviors based on the Adolescent Health Promotion (AHP) scale before and after the program and between the intervention and control groups. Results: Athlete students scored higher in exercise (20.9 ± 3.6 vs. 16.3 ± 3.7, P < 0.01) but lower in nutrition (19.7 ± 3.4 vs. 22.1 ± 3.9, P < 0.01) among the AHP scale items than general students referenced in the literature. Athletes who participated in health promotion club showed improvement in AHP scores, particularly in the domain of health responsibility that was persistent up to 6 months after the intervention. Conclusion: We identified a general lack of healthy nutrition practices in these athlete youth. After 20 weeks' training, the participants adopted healthier behaviors that persisted even longer. Further research of larger participation is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme.

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