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Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a psychoactive drug that comes from the Cannabis plant. Marijuana can be smoked, vaporized, or consumed through edibles in a variety of ways. Perception changes, changes in mood, and problems with coordination are all possible side effects. Marijuana is used for both recreational and medical purposes to treat a variety of health conditions. The literature review on the effects of marijuana on the human body has increased in recent years as more states legalize its use. It is important to investigate the benefits and harmful effects of marijuana on individuals due to the widespread use of cannabis-derived substances like marijuana for medical, recreational, and combined purposes. The paper will review different aspects of marijuana in 4 main domains. A thorough discussion of marijuana's definition, history, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, and effects on human cells will be given in the first domain. The second domain will concentrate on marijuana's negative effects, while the third domain will look at marijuana's possible positive impacts, such as its usage in controlling multiple sclerosis, treating obesity, lowering social anxiety, and managing pain. The fourth domain will concentrate on marijuana's effects on anxiety, educational attainment, and social consequences. Additionally, this paper also will provide a highlight of the history of marijuana use and governmental legislation, both of which play a significant role in determining how the public views marijuana. In conclusion, this paper provides a comprehensive review of marijuana's effects, which may be of interest to a large readership. This review adds to the continuing discussion about the use of marijuana by analyzing the data that is currently available about the possible advantages and disadvantages of marijuana usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Chinese General Social Survey 2006 and 2008 data, this paper assesses the influence of the family planning policy on the qualitative development of children using education attainment and individual income of only children versus children with siblings as parameters. Our results show the following: (1) only children are better-educated than their counterparts with siblings; (2) only children earn higher income in comparison to their counterparts with siblings; (3) the income and education gaps between girls with and without siblings are greater than those between boys; (4) the education gaps between only children and children with siblings are greater for those born in the 1970s, but the income difference between only children and children with siblings is only significant for those born in the 1980s; and (5) the income and education gaps between only children and children with siblings are higher in urban regions. Results indicate that families with only one child invest more resources in children's quality under the family planning policy, which is consistent with the "quantity-quality trade-off" theory proposed by Gary Becker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the causal effect of teenage childbearing on educational attainment using two cohorts of Australian twins and their relatives. Our main finding is that the negative effect of teenage childbearing on educational attainment appears to be small. We find no difference in educational attainment between teen mothers and their identical twin sisters. Data on the relatives of the twins enable us to compare a teen mother with both her twin sister and her other sibling sisters. When twin sisters are used as a control group instead of sibling sisters, the estimated difference in educational attainment is much smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of education in explaining the technology-intensive exports of 27 European countries. A comparative analysis of transition and non-transition economies is also conducted in this article. The empirical assessment provides sufficient evidence to support the hypothesized positive link between the stock of population with tertiary education and the share of medium-high and high-technology exports for the full sample of countries, the effect being relatively stronger for the high-technology category. The importance of higher levels of education is further supported by the non-linear relationship between the average years of schooling and technology intensive exports. The empirical findings also reveal a positive and highly significant relationship between the share of population with tertiary education and the export sophistication of the full set of countries. The evidence from country group estimations is weaker. Some supporting evidence is found for the hypothesized role of the quality of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In numerous observational studies, there has been an indication that educational attainment (EA) can impact the intensity of pain and disability resulting from chronic musculoskeletal disorders. Nonetheless, the association observed in these studies is not entirely conclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic causal relationship between educational attainment and 12 musculoskeletal disorders using Mendelian randomization (MR). Methods: The meta‐analysis of genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) identified 3952 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with educational attainment (EA) from the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium (SSGAC). Genetic data for 12 musculoskeletal disorders, including osteonecrosis, osteoporosis, osteomyelitis, low back pain, gout, spinal stenosis, rheumatoid arthritis, meniscus derangement, rotator cuff syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, cervicobrachial syndrome, and lateral epicondylitis, were obtained from the FinnGen consortium. We conducted a two‐sample Mendelian randomization analysis to examine the causal effect of EA on the risk of these musculoskeletal disorders using the TwoSampleMR package in R. Results: Based on the inverse‐variance weighted (IVW) method, we found that a genetically predicted per standard deviation (SD) increase in EA was inversely associated with low back pain [odds ratio (OR) 0.46, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.51–0.61, p < 0.001], spinal stenosis (OR 0.62, 95% Cl 0.54–0.71, p < 0.001), rheumatoid arthritis (OR 0.65, 95% Cl 0.55–0.76, p < 0.001), meniscus derangement (OR 0.73, 95% Cl 0.65–0.82, p < 0.001), rotator cuff syndrome (OR 0.55, 95% Cl 0.49–0.61, p < 0.001), cervicobrachial syndrome (OR 0.50, 95% Cl 0.42–0.60, p < 0.001), and lateral epicondylitis (OR 0.30, 95% Cl 0.24–0.37, p < 0.001). There was no causal association between EA and osteonecrosis (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.76–1.72, p = 0.60), osteoporosis (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.65–1.27, p = 0.59), or osteomyelitis (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.75–1.01, p = 0.22). Genetic predisposition to EA had a suggestive causal association with gout (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68–0.95, p = 0.01) and ankylosing spondylitis (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.45–0.91, p = 0.01) after Bonferroni correction. None of the analyses revealed any horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity. Conclusion: In our investigation, we have uncovered evidence supporting a causal relationship between low level of EA and the incidence of certain musculoskeletal disorders. In the future, it is imperative to ascertain risk factors such as lifestyle patterns linked with EA to uncover the underlying causal relationship and offer informed interventions for individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It was reported that educational attainment and household income are associated with oropharyngeal cancer. However, whether such an association is causal is still unknown. Methods: The Mendelian randomization (MR) design was performed to disentangle their causal relationship. Initially, genetic variants proxied for educational attainment and household income were extracted from the largest genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and two oropharyngeal GWAS datasets were used in the discovery and validation stages separately. A reverse MR analysis was carried out to judge whether oropharyngeal cancer affects educational attainment and household income. The results from the two stages were combined using meta-analysis. The heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy were appraised using several methods. Results: All selected genetic variants were valid. In the discovery stage, genetically elevated years of education might decrease the risk of oropharyngeal cancer (IVW OR = 0.148 [0.025, 0.872], p-value = 0.035), while such a result became insignificant in the validation stage (IVW p-value >0.05). Household income cannot change the risk of oropharyngeal cancer at both stages. The reverse MR suggested that oropharyngeal cancer should slightly alter household income (IVW OR = 1.001 [1.000, 1.003], p-value = 0.036) in the discovery set, but the result cannot be replicated in the validation stage. The meta-analysis did not find any significant results either. The results were also assessed by sensitivity analyses, and there was no heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy in the analyses. The statistical powers were all above 80% at the discovery stage. Conclusions: There should be no causal association between educational attainment, household income, and oropharyngeal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Adolescent pregnancy in Uganda declined from 31% in 2000–01 to 25% in 2006 but thereafter stalled at 25% from 2006 to 2016. This paper investigates the factors associated with the recent stall in the rate of decline of adolescent pregnancy in Uganda. Methods We used logistic regression models for 4 years (2000–01, 2006, 2011 and 2016) of data from the Uganda Demographic Health Survey to explore proximate and distal factors of adolescent pregnancy in Uganda. We carried out Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition models to explore the contributions of different factors in explaining the observed decline in adolescent pregnancy between 2001 and 2006, and the subsequent stall between 2006 and 2016. Results We found that marriage among women aged 15–19 years, and early sexual debut, were strongly associated with adolescent pregnancy. These declined substantially between 2000 and 01 and 2006, leading to a decline in adolescent pregnancy. Their decline was in turn associated with rising levels of female education and household wealth. After 2006, education levels and household wealth gains stalled, with associated stalls in the decline of marriage among women aged 15–19 years and sexual debut, and a stall in the decline of adolescent pregnancy. Conclusions The stall in the decline of adolescent pregnancies in Uganda was linked to a stall in the reduction of adolescent marriage, which in turn was associated with limited progress in female educational attainment between 2006 and 2016. We emphasize the need for a renewed focus on girl’s education and poverty reduction to reduce adolescent pregnancy in Uganda and subsequently improve health outcomes for adolescent girls.

Background: There is an evidence gap about whether levels of engagement with public services such as schools and health care affect people across the lifespan. Data on missed patient appointments from a nationally representative sample of Scottish general practices (GP) (2013-2016) were probabilistically linked to secondary school pupil data. We tested whether school attendance, exclusions (2007-2011) or lower educational attainment (2007-2016) was associated with an increased risk of missing general practice appointments.Methods: School attendance data were classified into quartiles of possible days attended for years we had data. School exclusions were derived as a categorical variable of 'ever excluded'. Attainment data were categorised via the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level 3 or 6; a cumulative measure of attainment on leaving school. The associations between school attendance, exclusions and attainment and risk of missing medical appointments were investigated using negative binomial models, offset by number of GP appointments made and controlling for potential confounders.Results: 112,534 patients (all aged under 35) had GP appointment and retrospective school attendance and exclusion data, and a subset of 66,967 also had attainment data available. Patients who had lower attendance, had been excluded from school or had lower educational attainment had an increased risk of missing GP appointments (all rate ratios > 1.40).Conclusions: This study provides the first evidence from a population-representative sample in a high-income country that increased numbers of missed appointments in health care are associated with reduced school attendance, higher levels of school exclusion and lower educational attainment. Insights into the epidemiology of missingness across public services can support future research, policy and practice that aim to improve healthcare, health outcomes and engagement in services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the minorities' diminished returns (MDR) theory, socioeconomic status (SES) indicators such as education attainment have smaller protective effects on health risk behaviors for racial and ethnic minority groups in comparison to the 'dominant' social group. However, most studies of MDR theory have been on comparison of Blacks versus Whites. Much less is known about diminished returns of SES in ethnic subpopulations (i.e., Hispanics versus non-Hispanic Whites). To test whether MDR also holds for the social patterning of problematic alcohol use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites, this study investigated ethnic variations in the association between education attainment and alcohol binge drinking frequency in a population-based sample of adults. Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, 2001, included 907 non-Hispanic White and 2117 Hispanic White adults (≥18 years old). Hispanic ethnicity (moderator), education attainment (independent variable), alcohol binge drinking frequency (dependent variable), and gender, age, immigration status, employment status, self-rated health, and history of depression (confounders) were included in four linear regressions. In the overall sample that included both non-Hispanic and Hispanic Whites, higher education attainment was correlated with lower alcohol binge drinking frequency (b = −0.05, 95% CI = −0.09–−0.02), net of covariates. A significant interaction was found between ethnicity and education attainment (b = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.00–0.17), indicating a stronger protective effect of high education attainment against alcohol binge drinking frequency for non-Hispanic than Hispanic Whites. In ethnic-stratified models, higher level of education attainment was associated with lower binge drinking frequency among non-Hispanic Whites (b = −0.11, 95% CI = −0.19–−0.03), but not among Hispanic Whites (b = −0.01, 95% CI = −0.04–0.03). While, overall, higher education attainment is associated with lower frequency of alcohol binge drinking, this protective effect of education attainment seems to be weaker among Hispanic Whites compared to non-Hispanic Whites, a phenomenon consistent with the MDR theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought about significant changes to the the learning process, prompted by the shift away from traditional physical classrooms to virtual ones. With unequal access to remote learning technologies, there are concerns regarding undergraduate students' academic progress. A primary survey was conducted to create a composite learning score to quantify learning losses. A significantly higher learning loss is visible among students belonging to families facing income losses during the pandemic, and public university students. We find that compared to India, students of Bangladesh and Pakistan are affected more severely in terms of learning losses. The article also measures the extent of psychological distress and academic demotivation related to online learning. We find that the same groups of students face higher psychological distress and academic demotivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]