The social profile of reluctant responders is even more worrying: this attitude was more prevalent among low-income people (37%), who are generally more exposed to infectious diseases,4 among young ...women (aged 18–35 years; 36%), who play a crucial role regarding childhood vaccination,5 and among people aged older than 75 years (22%), who are probably at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. When this dimension has been studied, researchers have often found a connection between political beliefs and attitudes to vaccines.6 They highlight a crucial issue for public health interventions: how can we assure the public that recommendations reflect the state of scientific knowledge rather than political interests? Public authorities are setting up fast-track approval processes for a putative vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.9 It is crucial to communicate early and transparently on these processes to avoid vaccines becoming part of political debates.
The Internet is one of the main resources of health information especially for young adults, but website content is not always trustworthy or validated. Little is known about this specific population ...and the importance of online health searches for use and impact. It is fundamental to assess behaviors and attitudes of young people looking for online health-related information and their level of trust in such information.
The objective is to describe the characteristics of Internet users aged 15-30 years who use the Web as a health information resource and their trust in it, and to define the context and the effect of such use on French young adults' behavior in relation to their medical consultations.
We used the French Health Barometer 2010, a nationally representative survey of 27,653 individuals that investigates population health behaviors and concerns. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed using a subsample of 1052 young adults aged 15-30 years to estimate associations between demographics, socioeconomic, and health status and (1) the use of the Internet to search for health information, and (2) its impact on health behaviors and the physician-patient relationship.
In 2010, 48.5% (474/977) of Web users aged 15-30 years used the Internet for health purposes. Those who did not use the Internet for health purposes reported being informed enough by other sources (75.0%, 377/503), stated they preferred seeing a doctor (74.1%, 373/503) or did not trust the information on the Internet (67.2%, 338/503). However, approximately 80% (371/474) of young online health seekers considered the information found online reliable. Women (P<.001) and people with higher sociocultural positions (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.9 and OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.7 for employees and manual workers, respectively, vs individuals with executive or manager positions) were more likely to use the Internet for health purposes. For a subsample of women only, online health seeking was more likely among those having a child (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.7) and experiencing psychological distress (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.0-4.0). Finally, for online health seekers aged 15-30 years, one-third (33.3%, 157/474) reported they changed their health behaviors (eg, frequency of medical consultations, way of taking care of one's own health) because of their online searches. Different factors were associated with different outcomes of change, but psychological distress, poor quality of life, and low income were the most common.
The Internet is a useful tool to spread health information and prevention campaigns, especially to target young adults. Young adults trust online information and consider the Internet as a valid source of health advice. Health agencies should ensure the improvement of online health information quality and the creation of health-related websites and programs dedicated to young adults.
Restricted sleep duration among young adults and adolescents has been shown to increase the risk of morbidities such as obesity, diabetes or accidents. However there are few epidemiological studies ...on normal total sleep time (TST) in representative groups of teen-agers which allow to get normative data.
To explore perceived total sleep time on schooldays (TSTS) and non schooldays (TSTN) and the prevalence of sleep initiating insomnia among a nationally representative sample of teenagers.
Data from 9,251 children aged 11 to 15 years-old, 50.7% of which were boys, as part of the cross-national study 2011 HBSC were analyzed. Self-completion questionnaires were administered in classrooms. An estimate of TSTS and TSTN (week-ends and vacations) was calculated based on specifically designed sleep habits report. Sleep deprivation was estimated by a TSTN - TSTS difference >2 hours. Sleep initiating nsomnia was assessed according to International classification of sleep disorders (ICSD 2). Children who reported sleeping 7 hours or less per night were considered as short sleepers.
A serious drop of TST was observed between 11 yo and 15 yo, both during the schooldays (9 hours 26 minutes vs. 7 h 55 min.; p<0.001) and at a lesser extent during week-ends (10 h 17 min. vs. 9 h 44 min.; p<0.001). Sleep deprivation concerned 16.0% of chidren aged of 11 yo vs. 40.5% of those of 15 yo (p<0.001). Too short sleep was reported by 2.6% of the 11 yo vs. 24.6% of the 15 yo (p<0.001).
Despite the obvious need for sleep in adolescence, TST drastically decreases with age among children from 11 to 15 yo which creates significant sleep debt increasing with age.
•Daily smoking is still highly popular among French adolescents aged 17.•E-cigarettes are largely experimented with among French adolescents aged 17.•Among ever-smokers, those who had ever used ...e-cigarettes were less likely to become daily smokers at 17.•Same conclusions were reached whether e-cigarettes were tried before or after smoking.
According to multiple studies, e-cigarette use among adolescents is associated with subsequent smoking initiation. However, little is known about its effect on the transition from smoking initiation to daily smoking.
Using retrospective data from a French national representative survey collected in 2017 (n = 39,115), we analyzed the role of ever using e-cigarettes on daily cigarette smoking status at 17 among ever smokers (n = 21,401). Risk-ratios (RR) were computed through modified Poisson regressions with an inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) approach.
Among French adolescents aged 17, 16.8 % declared current e-cigarette use (1.9 % reported daily use) and 34.1 % cigarette smoking (25.1 % reported daily smoking). Among ever-smokers, adolescents who declared having ever used e-cigarettes were less likely than those who did not to transition to daily smoking at 17: RR = 0.62 95 %CI 0.60 – 0.64. We found similar results for those who experimented with e-cigarettes before initiating smoking, RR = 0.76 95 %CI 0.66 – 0.89.
Our results found no evidence of an increased risk of transitioning to daily smoking at 17 among ever-smokers who also experimented with e-cigarettes. Further studies should investigate the longer-term role of vaping on future smoking habits with the use of causal inference methods.
In 2009–2010, the H1N1 episode occurred in a general context of decreasing public confidence in vaccination. We assumed opposition to vaccination in general to be an ‘unfounded fear’, reflecting ...ignorance and perceived vulnerability among low-socioeconomic status (SES) people, and opposition to the H1N1 vaccine a ‘legitimate concern’ reflecting the elite's commitment to ‘risk culture’ in a ‘risk society’. We indirectly tested these assumptions by investigating the socioeconomic profiles associated with opposition to vaccination in general and opposition to the H1N1 vaccine specifically. Our second aim was to determine whether or not opposition to the H1N1 vaccine fuelled opposition to vaccination in general. We used data from a telephone survey conducted in 2009–2010 among a random sample of French people aged 15–79 (N = 9480). Attitudes toward vaccination in general and toward the H1N1 vaccine specifically varied significantly between October 2009 and June 2010 with strong correlation being observed between these attitudes throughout the whole period. In multivariable analysis attitudes toward vaccination in general remained a significant predictor of attitudes to the H1N1 vaccine and vice versa, for distinct profiles as follows: males, older people, low-SES people for opposition to vaccination in general, versus females, people aged 35–49 and those with an intermediate SES for opposition to the H1N1 vaccine. Results also differed regarding indicators of social vulnerability, proximity to preventive medicine and vaccination history. The first profile supported the “unfounded fears expressed by low-SES people” hypothesis, while the second echoed previous work related to middle-classes’ “healthism”. Opposition to vaccination should not be reduced to irrational reactions reflecting ignorance or misinformation and further research is needed to acquire a greater understanding of the motives of opponents.
•Attitudes toward vaccination in general shaped public's reactions to H1N1 vaccine.•The H1N1 episode undermined French public's attitudes toward vaccination.•People with a low socioeconomic status were more prone to oppose vaccination.•Educated middle-classes were more prone to oppose the H1N1 vaccine specifically.
Aims
To assess the effectiveness of the 2015 version of the French Évin Law that was implemented in 1991 with the objective of protecting young people from alcohol advertising.
Design
Data were ...obtained from survey questions measuring exposure and receptivity to alcohol advertisements that were introduced for the first time in the 2015 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD).
Participants and setting
A representative sample of 6642 10th–12th grade students (mean age 17.3 years) were interviewed in 198 schools in France by a self‐administered questionnaire.
Measurements
Information was collected on alcohol advertising exposure in different media (outside billboards, internet, etc.) and receptivity to recent advertisements (attractiveness, incentive to drink, etc.).
Findings
The majority of students declared that they had been exposed at least once a month to alcohol advertisements in supermarkets (73.2%), in movies (66.1%), magazines and newspapers (59.1%), on billboards in streets (54.5%), and on the internet (54.1%). Concerning the last recalled advertisements, 27.8% remembered the beverage type, 18.2% the brand, 13% felt like having a drink after having seen the advertisement and 19.6% found the advertisement attractive (boys ranked significantly higher than girls for all these indicators; P‐value < 0.05).
Conclusion
The 2015 version of the French Évin law does not appear to protect young people effectively from exposure to alcohol advertising in France.
Because the effectiveness of a coronavirus disease lockdown in curbing coronavirus disease spread depends on public support, acquiring real-time information about the way populations reacted to the ...lockdown is crucial. In France, such public support remained fragile among low-income persons, probably because the lockdown exacerbated preexisting social inequalities and conflicts.
Abstract
Background
Educational disparities in daily smoking begin during adolescence and can lead to educational disparities in health among adults. In particular, vocational students including ...apprentices have higher daily smoking rates compared to non-vocational students. This study aimed to identify the determinants of the gap in daily smoking between French apprentices and high school students aged 17 in 2008 and in 2017.
Methods
We used data from a cross-sectional repeated survey representative of all French adolescents aged 17 in 2008 and 2017. We conducted a non-linear extension of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique and included the following variables: sociodemographic and familial characteristics, parental smoking, cannabis and alcohol use, suicidal attempt, grade repetition and money received.
Results
Daily smoking was about two times higher among French apprentices compared to high school students in 2008. This gap did not decrease between 2008 and 2017. Differences in measured characteristics between the two groups explained this gap partly, from 28.6 to 51.2%. Cannabis and alcohol use, money received and parental smoking contributed the most to the daily smoking gap.
Conclusions
Prevention programs could target cannabis and alcohol use as well as parental smoking to help decrease educational disparities in smoking status among French adolescents.
Previous studies have shown that survey methodology can greatly influence prevalence estimates for alcohol and illicit drug use. The aim of this article is to assess the effect of data collection ...modes on alcohol misuse and drug use reports by comparing national estimates from computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) and audio-computer-assisted self interviews (A-CASI).
Two national representative surveys conducted in 2005 in France by CATI (n = 24,674) and A-CASI (n = 8,111).
French-speaking individuals aged 18-64 years old.
Alcohol misuse according to the CAGE test, cannabis use (lifetime, last year, 10+ in last month) and experimentation with cocaine, LSD, heroin, amphetamines, ecstasy, were measured with the same questions and wordings in the two surveys. Multivariate logistic regressions controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (age, educational level, marital status and professional status) were performed. Analyses were conducted on the whole sample and stratified by age (18-29 and 30-44 years old) and gender. 45-64 years old data were not analysed due to limited numbers.
Overall national estimates were similar for 9 out of the 10 examined measures. However, after adjustment, A-CASI provided higher use for most types of illicit drugs among the youngest men (adjusted odds ratio, or OR, of 1.64 1.08-2.49 for cocaine, 1.62 1.10-2.38 for ecstasy, 1.99 1.17-3.37 for LSD, 2.17 1.07-4.43 for heroin, and 2.48 1.41-4.35 for amphetamines), whereas use amongst women was similar in CATI and A-CASI, except for LSD in the 30-44 age group (OR = 3.60 1.64-7.89). Reported alcohol misuse was higher with A-CASI, for all ages and genders.
Although differences in the results over the whole population were relatively small between the surveys, the effect of data collection mode seemed to vary according to age and gender.
The measures put in place to contain the coronavirus epidemic in France have led to fears of a massive increase in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
Taking advantage of an ongoing ...weekly Internet survey monitoring living conditions of the French population during the containment, we introduced questions on alcohol and tobacco use 1 month after the start of the first containment. Analyses were conducted with multivariate Poisson regressions.
Tobacco consumption remained almost unchanged. By contrast, more than a third of French people did change their weekly alcohol intake: 13% increased it, whereas 21% decreased it, indicating that the containment measures were often taken as an opportunity to reduce alcohol consumption, especially among those who drank less than 4 days per week before. Men were more likely to decrease their alcohol intake and less likely to increase it than women, probably because of a differential impact of the reduction of social activities on gendered social roles. The people most affected were smokers and those living in a dwelling in which someone had been infected, including themselves.
The crisis tended to polarize alcohol consumption toward extremes. If the new drinking habits were to continue, the consequences could be beneficial for occasional drinkers but harmful for heavier drinkers.
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