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Abstract Background There is substantial empirical evidence on the benefits of smoking bans; however, the unintended consequences of this anti-smoking measure have received little attention. This paper examines whether workplace smoking bans (WSB's) are associated with higher self-perceived, work-related stress among smoking workers. Methods A longitudinal representative sample of 3,237 individuals from the Canadian National Population Health Survey from 2000 to 2008 is used. Work-related stress is derived from a 12-item job questionnaire. Two categories of WSB's, full and partial, are included in the analysis, with no ban being the reference category. Analysis also controls for individual socio-demographic characteristics, health status, provincial and occupational fixed-effects. We use fixed-effects linear regression to control for individual time-invariant confounders, both measured and unmeasured, which can affect the relationship between WSB's and work-related stress. To examine the heterogeneous effects of WSB's, the analysis is stratified by gender and age. We check the robustness of our results by re-estimating the baseline specification with the addition of different control variables and a separate analysis for non-smokers. Results Multivariate analysis reveals a positive and statistically significant association between full (β = 0.75, CI = 0.19-1.32) or partial (β = 0.69, CI = 0.12-1.26) WSB's, and the level of self-perceived, work-related stress among smoking workers compared to those with no WSB. We also find that this association varies by gender and age. In particular, WSB's are significantly associated with higher work stress only for males and young adults (aged 18-40). No statistically significant association is found between WSB's and the level of self-perceived work-related stress among non-smoking workers. Conclusion The results of this study do not imply that WSB's are the main determinant of self-perceived, work-related stress among smokers but provides suggestive evidence that these may be positively related.

Abstract Background The health benefits of adequate fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption are significant and widely documented. However, many individuals self-report low F&V consumption frequency per day. This paper examines the disparities in the frequency of F&V consumption by socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics. Method This study uses a representative sample of 93,719 individuals from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2007). A quantile regression model is estimated in order to capture the differential effects of F&V determinants across the conditional distribution of F&V consumption. Results The conditional and unconditional analyses reveal the existence of a socioeconomic gradient in F&V consumption frequency, in which the low income-education groups consume F&V less frequently than the high income-education groups. We also find significant disparities in F&V consumption frequency by demographic and lifestyle characteristics. The frequency of F&V consumption is relatively lower among: males, those in middle age, singles, smokers, individuals with weak social interaction and households with no children. The quantile regression results show that the association between F&V consumption frequency, and socio-demographic and lifestyle factors varies significantly along the conditional F&V consumption distribution. In particular, individual educational attainment is positively and significantly associated with F&V consumption frequency across different parts of the F&V distribution, while the income level matters only over the lower half of the distribution. F&V consumption follows a U-shaped pattern across the age categories. Those aged 30-39, 40-49 and 50-59 years consume F&V less frequently than those aged 18-29 years. The smallest F&V consumption is among the middle aged adults (40-49). Conclusions Understanding the socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics of individuals with low F&V consumption frequency could increase the effectiveness of policies aimed at promoting F&V consumption. The differential effects of individual characteristics along the F&V consumption distribution suggest the need for a multifaceted approach to address the variation in F&V consumption frequency.

Abstract Background While there is considerable theoretical and empirical evidence on how job stress affects physical and mental health, few studies have examined the association between job related stress and health care utilization. Using data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey from 2000 to 2008, this paper examines the association between stressful working conditions, as measured by the job strain model, and the utilization of health care services. Methods A zero inflated negative binomial regression is used to examine the excess health care utilization due to job strain. Separate regressions are estimated for both males and females since studies have shown gender differences in health care utilization. Results Estimates for the whole population show that high or medium job strain has a positive and statistically significant association with the number of visits to both a general practitioner (GP) and a specialist (SP). On average, the number of GP visits is up to 26% more (IRR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.19-1.31) for individuals with high strain jobs compared to those in the low job strain category. Similarly, SP visits are up to 27% more (IRR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.14-142) for the high strain category. Results are quantitatively similar for males and females, save for medium strain. In general, findings are robust to the inclusion of workplace social support, health status, provincial and occupational-fixed effects. Conclusion Job strain may be positively associated with the utilization of health care services. This suggests that improving psychosocial working conditions and educating workers on stress-coping mechanisms could be beneficial for the physical and mental health of workers.

Background: In spite of the substantial benefits of physical activity for healthy aging, older adults are considered the most physically inactive segment of the Canadian population. This paper examines leisure-time physical inactivity (LTPA) and its correlates among older Canadian adults. Methods: We use data from the Canadian Community Health Survey with 45,265 individuals aged 50-79 years. A logistic regression is estimated and separate regressions are performed for males and females. Results: About 50% of older Canadian adults are physically inactive. Higher odds of physical inactivity are found among current smokers (OR = 1.52, CI = 1.37-1.69), those who binge-drink (OR = 1.24, CI = 1.11-1.39), visible minorities (OR = 1.60, CI = 1.39-1.85), immigrants (OR = 1.13, CI = 1.02-1.25), individuals with high perceived life stress (OR = 1.48, CI = 1.31-1.66). We also find lower odds of physical inactivity among: males (OR = 0.89, CI = 0.83 to 0.96), those with strong social interaction (OR = 0.71, CI = 0.66-0.77), with general life satisfaction (OR = 0.66, CI = 0.58-0.76) and individuals with more education. Similar results are obtained from separate regressions for males and females. Conclusions: Identifying the correlates of LTPA among older adults can inform useful intervention measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a marked height difference between Palestinian children living in the refugee camps and children of the remaining population in Jordan. Children living in refugee camps are significantly shorter than the rest of the children in the hosting population. We explore the drivers of the height gap, measured by the height for age z-score, among children residing in refugee camps and the non-camp residents. A Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition is used to quantify the sources of the inequalities between the two groups into two components; one that is explained by regional differences in the level of the determinants, and another part that is explained by differences in the effect of the determinants of the child nutritional status. Our results suggest that the endowment effect dominates the coefficients effect. More specifically, the height gap is mainly driven by wealth disparities between the two groups. Poverty alleviation programs such as conditional cash transfers programs and microfinance to camps' residents would help to reduce the spatial nutrition inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though maternal employment can increase family income, several studies suggest that it could have adverse consequences on children's health. In this study, we use a nationally representative sample of 12,888 children, aged 0-5 years from Egypt to examine the impact of maternal employment on child nutritional indicators, namely: stunting, wasting, and being underweight and overweight. We adopted various estimation methods to control for observable and unobservable household characteristics in order to identify the causal effect of maternal employment. These different techniques include, propensity score matching (PSM), OLS regression with controlling for a wide range of individual characteristics, and an instrumental variable two-stage least squares (IV 2SLS) approach. Results of the PSM and OLS suggest that maternal employment is weakly associated with having a malnourished child. On the other hand, the IV 2SLS suggests a stronger and significant association between maternal employment and poor nutritional status among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the underlying demographic and socioeconomic determinants of child nutritional status in Egypt using data from the most recent round of the Demographic and Health Survey. The height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) was used as a measure of child growth. A quantile regression approach was used to allow for a heterogeneous effect of each determinant along different percentiles of the conditional distribution of the HAZ. A nationally representative sample of 13,682 children aged 0-4 years was drawn from the 2014 Egypt DHS. The multivariate analyses included a set of HAZ determinants commonly used in the literature. The conditional and unconditional analyses revealed a socioeconomic gradient in child nutritional status, in which children of low income/education households have a worse HAZ than those from high income/education households. The results also showed significant disparities in child nutritional status by demographic and social characteristics. The quantile regression results showed that the association between the demographic and socioeconomic factors and HAZ differed along the conditional HAZ distribution. Intervention measures need to consider the heterogeneous effect of the determinants of child nutritional status along the different percentiles of the HAZ distribution. There is no one-size-fits-all policy to combat child malnutrition; a multifaceted approach and targeted policy interventions are required to address this problem effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 2011 revolution, Egypt has experienced frequent electricity blackouts and severe shortage in energy supplies. The government responded to the problem by reducing the subsidy on energy for heavy industries, and household electricity use. In addition, the government introduced a smart card system that entails a certain quota of fuel for each registered car per month. It appeared to the public that the Egyptian government is attempting to adopt an energy conservation policy to ration energy consumption and manage the deficit in energy supplies. Given that energy is an essential input for many economic activities, there is a concern that a reduction in energy consumption may dampen the growth potentials of the Egyptian economy. This paper investigates the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in Egypt during the period 1980-2012, within a multivariate framework by including measures for capital and labor in the aggregate production function. Causality is tested using a modified version of the Granger causality test due to Toda and Yamamoto (1995). The analyses endogenously controls for potential structural breaks in the time series when conducting the unit root tests. In addition to aggregate energy consumption, the analysis is also segregated by different components of energy use including oil, electricity, natural gas and coal to account for any potential aggregation bias. No causal relationship was found between total primary energy consumption and economic growth, supporting the neutrality hypothesis. When the analysis is stratified by energy type, a one way positive causal relation running from economic growth to electricity and oil consumption was found which is consistent with the conservation hypothesis. The findings of this study provide empirical evidence that energy conservation policy has no negative effect on the growth prospects of the Egyptian economy in the long-run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]