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Background: The study aimed to investigate the associations between physical partner violence victimization (IPV) and/or sexual violence victimization and various health risk behaviours and mental health in university students in 25 countries.Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, 18,335 university students with a median age of 20 years from 25 countries in Africa, the Americas and Asia, replied to self-reported measures of interpersonal violence, health compromising behaviours, mental health measures and protective factors.Results: In adjusted logistic regression analysis, physical IPV and/or sexual violence victimization was associated, among men and/or among women, with sexual risk behaviours (multiple sexual partners, alcohol use in the context of sex, diagnosed with HIV and pregnancy), violence related behaviour (in a physical fight and carrying a weapon), poor mental health (depression, loneliness, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleeping problem and short sleep), addictive behaviour (binge drinking, tobacco and drug use), and other health risk behaviour (skipping breakfast and frequent salt intake).Conclusions: We found evidence that physical IPV and/or sexual violence victimization among female and/or male university students was associated with 4 of 5 sexual risk behaviours, 2 violence related behaviours, 5 of 5 poor mental health indicators, 3 of 3 addictive behaviours and 2 of 7 other health risk behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Criminal victimisation and subjective well-being have both been linked to health outcomes, although as yet, comparatively little is known about the relationship between these two phenomena. In this study we used data from nine countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU) to examine the association between different types of crime and subjective well-being.Methods: Data were obtained from 18,000 individuals aged 18 and above collected during the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) survey in 2010/11 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine. Information was obtained on respondents' experience of crime (violence and theft) and self-reported affective (happiness) and cognitive (life satisfaction) well-being. Ordered probit and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses were undertaken to examine the associations between these variables.Results: In pooled country analyses, experiencing violence was associated with significantly lower happiness and life satisfaction. Theft victimisation was associated with significantly reduced life satisfaction but not happiness. Among the individual countries, there was a more pronounced association between violent victimisation and reduced happiness in Kazakhstan and Moldova.Conclusions: The finding that criminal victimisation is linked to lower levels of subjective well-being highlights the importance of reducing crime in the fSU, and also of having effective support services in place for victims of crime to reduce its detrimental effects on health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Asian babies born in developed countries are generally lighter than babies from other ethnic groups born in the same country. While the mean birth weight of Caucasian babies in the Netherlands has increased the past decades, it is unknown if the mean birth weight of South Asian babies born in the Netherlands has increased or if the prevalence of low birth weight (LBW) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) has decreased. The aims of this study are: 1. to investigate secular changes in mean birth weight and the prevalence of LBW and SGA in Surinamese South Asian babies, and 2. to assess differences between Surinamese South Asian and Dutch Caucasian neonates born 2006-2009. Methods: A population based study for which neonatal characteristics of 2014 Surinamese South Asian babies, born between 1974 and 2009 in the Netherlands, and 3104 Dutch Caucasian babies born 2006-2009 were obtained from well-baby clinic records. LBW was defined as a birth weight <2500 g. SGA was based on a universal population standard (the Netherlands) and three ethnic specific standards (the Netherlands, UK, Canada). Results: In Surinamese South Asian babies from 1974 to 2009 no secular trend in mean birth weight and prevalence of LBW was found, whereas SGA prevalence decreased significantly. Surinamese South Asian babies born in 2006-2009 (2993 g; 95% CI 2959-3029 g) were 450 g lighter than Dutch Caucasian babies (3448 g; 95% CI 3429-3468 g), while LBW and SGA prevalences, based on universal standards, were three times higher. Application of ethnic specific standards from the Netherlands and the UK yielded SGA rates in Surinamese South Asian babies that were similar to Dutch. There were considerable differences between the standards used. Conclusion: Since 1974, although the mean birth weight of Surinamese South Asian babies remained unchanged, they gained a healthier weight for their gestational age [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indonesia is one of Asia's countries with the fastest growing rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The prevalence of HIV infections in the province of Papua is 2.4% which is 24 times higher than the national rate in Indonesia. This study aimed to investigate the association between stigma, beliefs about medicines, sociodemographic characteristics including ethnicity and adherence in People living with HIV (PLHIV) in Papua, Indonesia.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using questionnaires. We included participants from two hospital-outpatient clinics who were on antiretroviral treatment (ART) for more than 6 months, were at least 18 years old, and signed informed consent. Participants completed the Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS), Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), an HIV stigma scale and questions on demographic information. Data on antiretroviral medications were collected from medical records. The outcome was self-reported adherence as measured by the MARS using an 80% cut-off score. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse the data.Results: Overall, 331 out of 363 eligible participants were included with a mean age of 33.3 (± 9.4) years, 61.6% were female, 67.1% were Papuan. A total of 65.9% of participants were adherent. Being Papuan decreased the likelihood of adherence (odds ratio (OR) = 0.53; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.32-0.89). Feeling more distant, a stigma type, also decreased the likelihood of adherence (OR = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.88-0.99).Conclusion: The ethnicity of being Papuan and taking a distance to others were associated with non-adherence. Targeted interventions should be developed to improve adherence in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]