OBJECTIVE We examined secular trends in physical fitness and BMI status in 8- to 9-year-old Greek children during an 11-year period (1997-2007). METHODS Population data derived from a yearly health survey performed in over 85% of Greek schools. Anthropometric measurements and physical fitness tests from 651,582 children were analyzed. The gender- and age-specific BMI cut-off points by the Int...

BACKGROUND Bangladesh has made dramatic improvements in the health of girls and women in the last 20 years. This paper examines whether gender inequalities in health are evident among older children and adolescents among extremely poor households and identifies future health challenges for improving the health of girls and women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Gender inequalities in health were examine...

In Nigeria, decades of protracted military rule deepened poverty and created a situation in which many children are undernourished. According to the last National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, 2003), 29% of Nigerian children under five years are considered underweight. Today Nigeria is among the ten countries in the world with the largest number of underweight children, with an estimated...

The societal need for a mobile workforce increases time spent commuting and thus also the total workday. How this affects individual well-being and social life is, however, surprisingly little known. We investigated the relation between commuting time and mode, and social participation and general trust in other people as measures of social capital, using data from public health surveys conduct...

BACKGROUND Of global concern is the decline in under five children mortality which has reversed in some countries in sub Saharan Africa (SSA) since the early 1990 s which could be due to disparities in access to preventive services including immunization. This paper is aimed at determining the trend in disparities in completion of immunization using Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)...

OBJECTIVES To derive the best possible estimates of trends in age at first sex (AFS) among successive cohorts of Ugandan men and women based on all the data available from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and cohort studies in Masaka and Rakai districts. METHODS The datasets from the DHS, Masaka cohort and Rakai cohort were analysed separately. Survival analysis methods were used to e...

OBJECTIVES To assess the variability in the number of cigarettes smoked per person per day in Spain according to the information source (health surveys versus legal sales). METHODS We compared cigarette consumption per person per day (population aged ≥16 years) obtained from the national health surveys in Spain and the official data on legal tobacco sales between 1993 and 2009. RESULTS Ciga...

BACKGROUND Anemia in children continues to be a major public health challenge in most developing countries, particularly in Africa. Anemia in the early stages of life leads to severe negative consequences on the cognitive as well as the growth and development of children, which may persist even after treatment. We examine the prevalence of anemia in under-five children in the Ghanaian populatio...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between pregnancy history and the use of contraception among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in East Africa. METHODS Demographic and Health Surveys data from Burundi (2010), Kenya (2008-2009), Rwanda (2010), Tanzania (2010) and Uganda (2011) were used in the analysis. Logistic regression was used to determine the effects of women's pregnancy histo...