Mobile phone addiction has become an important public health problem in recent years. As young people are more susceptible to this problem, effective interventions to tackle mobile phone addiction among youth are needed. This systematic review aims to identify the possible risk factors that contribute to mobile phone addiction and provide implications in this field. This reviewselected11 studies pertaining to the topic of mobile phone addiction among adolescent and young users published from 2003 to 2013. It combines and summarizes major risk factors that predict the occurrence of mobile phone addiction among youth. It categorizes risk factors identified in four dimensions: psychological characteristics (self-esteem, sensation seeking, leisure boredom, interpersonal anxiety, self-identity, in-group norms, the need to belong, loneliness, depression, personality traits: extraversion, neuroticism and disagreeableness);perceived maternal rearing attitudes and environmental factor such as socioeconomic background, school locations, school failure; health compromising behaviors including tobacco use, excess alcohol consumption and internet addiction; and gender difference. The discussion presents limitations of the review and the implications for policy and practices, and avenues for further research. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Introduction Due to its widespread use, toxicity and volatility, exposure to the chemical formaldehyde has important implications for human health. Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease with both genetic and environmental factors. The common symptoms of asthma include wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the association between exposure to formaldehyde and adult asthma through systematic review. Methods A literature search was conducted using PubMed with keywords of formaldehyde, adult asthma, and other relevant terms. The basic exclusion and inclusion criteria in this study are as follows: Original randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were eligible, but not editorials, reviews, case-reports and case‐series. Studies that focused on behavioral change or other outcomes unrelated to asthma were excluded. Lastly, articles in which full text was unavailable were excluded. Finally, after 3 selection rounds, 7 studies were included in the present systematic review. Results: These 7 studies included 3 RCTs, 2 case‐control studies and 2 cross‐sectional studies, published from 1986 to 2013. The 3 RCTs examined participants with and without asthma and investigated the acute effects of formaldehyde on respiratory phenotypes; in contrast, the 4 observational studies examined the long‐term effects of low dose formaldehyde exposure on asthma. Only 1 RCT reported a strong association between formaldehyde and adult asthma, with the intervention group developed an immediate bronchial response at a significantly lower dose of mite allergen than that of the control group with air exposure. The other 2 RCTs found no significant deleterious effect on airway allergen responses after exposure to 500 μg/m3 formaldehyde; and the concentration of formaldehyde found in the indoor environment was of minor importance for developing pulmonary symptoms. Two case-control studies reported a positive association between formaldehyde exposure and asthma symptoms, while the results in the cross‐sectional studies suggested no significant association between formaldehyde exposure and adult asthma. Conclusions Among the 3 reviewed RCTs, only 1 reported a significant association between formaldehyde and asthma. In the 4 reviewed case‐control and cross‐sectional studies, 2 suggested that exposure to formaldehyde had significant effects on bronchial responses. However, these studies represented different characteristics, hence, after integration of them, this review suggests that exposure to formaldehyde in relative low concentration may not have strong association with adult asthma. However, further studies are required to A: Try to identify more potential confounders and choose most suitable model in various conditions; B: investigate multiple patterns of formaldehyde exposure and provide different outcome measurements in RCTs. In addition, this report indicates that it is important to increase the population awareness of choosing environmental friendly decoration materials for reducing formaldehyde exposure. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Objective: Since short-term weight loss is often achievable in overweight individuals but long-term weight maintenance is generally poor, this thesis examines the effect of the nature of support programmes and macronutrient composition on weight maintenance following weight loss. Research design and methods: A 2x2 multifactorial design was used to compare two support programmes and two diets differing in macronutrient composition on maintenance of weight loss over a 2-year period. Two hundred women who had recently lost at least 5% of initial body weight were randomised into one of two support programmes. One provided intensive expert, health professional support with regular circuit training classes. The other provided brief and frequent �weigh-ins� and support facilitated by a nurse. Participants were also randomised with regard to recommended diet composition. One eating plan was high in carbohydrate and dietary fibre, emphasising low glycemic index foods. The second eating plan was relatively high in monounsaturated fat and protein and had a low overall glycaemic load. At baseline, 1 and 2-years, weight, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured and body composition was estimated using bioelectrical impedance. Three-day weighed diet records were collected to estimate dietary intake. A fasting blood sample was used to measure glucose, insulin and lipids. Results: At 2-years weight was measured for 87% of participants. On average those randomised to the Expert Support Programme reduced weight by 2.5kg while those on the Nurse Support Programme reduced weight by 3.6kg (difference between support programmes, P=0.976). On the High Carbohydrate Diet average weight loss was 2.4kg compared with a loss of 3.8kg on the High Monounsaturated fat Diet (difference between diets, P=0.419). At follow-up, there were no signficant differences between the support programmes with regards to body composition, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, blood lipid levels, glucose, insulin, and predicted insulin sensitivity. From a health system perspective and relative to the Nurse Support Programme, the Expert Support Programme cost $NZ 928, 970 per QALY gained (or $9, 290 per person). At follow-up, there were no signficant differences between the dietary prescriptions with regard to body composition, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin and predicted insulin sensitivity. However, total and LDL cholesterol were significantly lower on the High Carbohydrate Diet compared with the High Monounsaturated fat Diet (total cholesterol 0.2mmol/l, P=0.044, LDL cholesterol 0.2mmol/l, P=0.042). At follow-up those on the High Monounsaturated fat Diet reported significantly higher intakes of saturated fat (1.5%TE), total fat (5%TE), monounsaturated fat (2.4%), and a significantly lower intake of carbohydrate (-5%TE) than those on the High Carbohydrate Diet. Conclusion: A relatively inexpensive nurse led programme appears to be as effective as a more costly expert health professional led programme in achieving weight maintenance over a 2-year period. This inexpensive and successful weight maintenance programme offers a feasible option for implementation in primary health care in New Zealand. Similarly, both dietary approaches produced comparable beneficial effects in terms of weight loss maintenance. However the High Carbohydrate Diet was associated with lower levels of total and LDL cholesterol, possibly due to a lower intake of saturated fat.

Although the adverse auditory effects of noise have been the focus of occupational health research for decades, little is known about the nonauditory health effects that result from noise exposure. The focus of this research was the nonauditory health effects of exposure to commercial aircraft noise (CAN) overflights. It was theorized that CAN exposure resulted in an ongoing stress-response that had the potential to be harmful to human health over time. Two aspects of CAN were considered; the sound level intensity (dBA), and the frequency of overflights. Data were collected by a stratified random sampling design in the CAN exposed neighborhoods of Eagan, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Bloomington, and in control communities of Shoreview and Mounds View, all located in Minnesota (n=4000). A written questionnaire was used to measure; (1) health (MOS-36 Scale), (2) behavioral and emotional coping strategies, (3) noise sensitivity, (4) annoyance levels, and (5) demographic data. Aircraft noise levels and overflight data were obtained in cooperation with the Metropolitan Airport Sound Abatement Commission. Results showed significantly higher stress levels and lower health measures by CAN exposure type. These findings occurred primarily in communities exposed to high frequencies of aircraft overflights. Multivariate analysis revealed significant reductions for the three main health measures of General Health (GH), Sense of Vitality (Vitality), and Mental Health (MH), based on CAN exposure type. Post-hoc contrast analysis indicated that GH, Vitality, and MH scores were worst with high frequency of overflights. Behavioral copers had significantly fewer stress symptoms and used fewer stress medications than non-behavioral copers. Non-normalized emotional copers had significant negative associations with Gil, Vitality, and MH; however, these correlations were weak. Noise sensitivity levels were not significantly different among the CAN exposed communities; however noise annoyance levels were significantly higher than controls, and were the highest with high frequency of overflights. Finally, multivariate analysis of covariance indicated significant reduction for health measures based on CAN exposure types after adjusting for all effect modifiers (covariates) in the study. Vitality was the most consistently impacted by CAN exposure, and this was particularly the case for subjects exposed to high frequency of aircraft overflights. / Graduation date: 1996

Water in 70 percent of the cities in the United States is hard enough that softening is either required or recommended. It is estimated that approximately 30 percent of all homes in the United States use water softeners. Water softeners, the cation exchange types suited for residential use, exchange sodium for the calcium and magnesium in water. The increase in sodium levels in the softened water caused by cation exchange softening is a direct function of the hardness level of the untreated water. For people who use groundwater, which has a relatively high level of naturally occurring sodium, magnesium and calcium, the additional sodium from cation exchange water softeners may create health hazards for the general population and could adversely affect those who are sensitive to salt or on low sodium diets. To prevent potential health hazards for the general population, no consumption of softened water by cation exchange water softeners should be recommended. If soft water is needed for some practical reasons, a "Separate Water Line System" should be recommended for homeowners. / Graduation date: 1991

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The primary goal of this dissertation was to examine the crossover effects of an individual's job demands on the perceived health of the spouse. Using a sample of grocery store employees and their partners, crossover relationships were examined for 90 dyads using Structural Equation Modeling. Although the models had good fit, the proposed direct crossover relationships of job demands on health were not supported. Job demands of one partner did not significantly predict health outcomes in the other partner; although follow-up analyses found significant crossover of women's job satisfaction on men's mental health scores. An additional crossover relationship was supported with the finding that crossover of health between spouses (i.e. physical and mental health components of general health) was significant. The second goal of the present dissertation study was to develop a typology of crossover research. All crossover studies to date were reviewed and categorized in a discussion of the proposed typology.

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