Urban Children (urban + child)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Rural and Urban Disparities in Caries Prevalence in Children with Unmet Dental Needs: The New England Children's Amalgam Trial

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 1 2008
Nancy Nairi Maserejian ScD
Abstract Objectives: To compare the prevalence of caries between rural and urban children with unmet dental health needs who participated in the New England Children's Amalgam Trial. Methods: Baseline tooth and surface caries were clinically assessed in children from rural Maine (n = 243) and urban Boston (n = 291), who were aged 6 to 10 years, with two or more posterior carious teeth and no previous amalgam restorations. Statistical analyses used negative binomial models for primary dentition caries and zero-inflated models for permanent dentition caries. Results: Urban children had a higher mean number of carious primary surfaces (8.5 versus 7.4) and teeth (4.5 versus 3.9) than rural children. The difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and toothbrushing frequency. In permanent dentition, urban children were approximately three times as likely to have any carious surfaces or teeth. However, rural/urban dwelling was not statistically significant in the linear analysis of caries prevalence among children with any permanent dentition caries. Covariates that were statistically significant in all models were age and number of teeth. Toothbrushing frequency was also important for permanent teeth. Conclusions: Within this population of New England children with unmet oral health needs, significant differences were apparent between rural and urban children in the extent of untreated dental decay. Results indicate that families who agree to participate in programs offering reduced cost or free dental care may present with varying amounts of dental need based on geographic location. [source]


Prevalence of obesity among children aged 6,7 years in South-East Serbia

OBESITY REVIEWS, Issue 3 2009
D. Stojanovic
Summary A cross-sectional study of the prevalence of obesity in urban and rural areas of South-East Serbia was performed on 541 children (273 boys and 268 girls), aged 6,7 years. Prevalence of obesity in urban boys and girls was 6.3% and 3.8% respectively (P > 0.05). Prevalence of obesity in rural boys and girls was 1.1% and 3.3% respectively (P > 0.05). The difference in the prevalence of obesity between urban boys and rural boys was statistically significant (P < 0.05), while the difference between urban and rural girls was insignificant (P > 0.05). Urban boys consumed more sweets and fast food compared with rural boys (P < 0.05). Urban children spent more time in watching TV compared with rural children (P < 0.05). [source]


Links between Community Violence and the Family System: Evidence from Children's Feelings of Relatedness and Perceptions of Parent Behavior,

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 3 2002
Michael Lynch Ph.D.
In this study, we examined some of the ways in which broader ecological systems may influence the organization of behavior within the family system. Specifically, links between exposure to community violence and children's relationships with maternal caregivers were investigated in a sample of 127 urban children between the ages of 7 and 13 years. Children were asked to indicate whether they had been exposed to a wide variety of violent events. In addition, their feelings of relatedness and separation anxiety, and their perceptions of maternal behavior were assessed. It was expected that exposure to community violence would be associated with feeling less secure with caregivers. Consistent with predictions from ecological-transactional theory, data supported this hypothesis. Children who reported that they had been exposed to high levels of community violence also indicated that they felt less positive affect when with their caregiver, were dissatisfied with how close they felt to her, felt more separation anxiety, and reported more negative maternal behavior than children exposed to less violence. Findings are discussed in terms of how violence may affect the family system and the protective function of human attachment. [source]


Prevalence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and clinical conditions in children and adolescents from rural and urban areas of central Italy

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PERIODONTOLOGY, Issue 8 2000
Michele Paolantonio
Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to report on the prevalence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) and the periodontal clinical conditions in children and adolescents from a rural area of central Italy compared with the ones from an urban area of the same region. Method: The study population consisted of 780 systemically healthy children, aged 6,14 years inhabiting the county of Chieti. 505 children attended 3 primary and 2 secondary schools from a rural area whereas 275 individuals attended 1 primary and 1 secondary school from the city of Chieti. The 2 provincial areas present a great difference in socioeconomic level and cultural background. Clinical examination consisted of recording the % of gingival sites positive for the presence of plaque (Pl+), bleeding on probing (BOP+), mean probing depth (PD) from each primary or permanent tooth fully erupted in the oral cavity. Loss of periodontal attachment (AL+) was evaluated only in interproximal sites. AL+ subjects were distinguished in juvenile periodontitis (JP) prepubertal periodontis and early periodontitis (EP) patients. 8 gingival sites were microbiologically sampled in each subject and cultured, after pooling, for the presence of Aa. Results: 30.3% of rural subjects, were positive for the presence of Aa, the difference from urban children (16%) being statistically significant (p=0.01) irrespective of gender and age. Aa showed a significantly (p=0.006) higher mean proportion in subgingival plaque samples from rural children (0.13% versus 0.02%). Loss of periodontal attachment in at least one site was found in 18 rural children (3.56%) (3 JP; 15 EP) and 2 urban girls (0.72%) (1 JP; 1 EP). No significant differences for AL were observed within the rural group according to the gender and age differentiation. In the urban group, both AL+ subjects were Aa+, while among children from rural areas all 3 JP and 13 EP subjects were Aa+. Rural subjects evidenced significantly worse clinical parameters with respect to urban children (% Pl+ sites: p=0.000; % BOP+ sites: p=0.010; mean PD: p=0.000.) The relative risk for AL+ sites was significantly greater (2.42) in rural subjects harboring Aa in subgingival plaque. Similarly, the presence of Aa in subgingival plaque was related to a greater risk of more than 50% of BOP+ gingival sites in both rural and urban subjects (1.45 and 8.40, respectively). Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that Aa colonization in children and adolescents from central Italy is affected by socioeconomic and cultural factors; these factors also affect the periodontal condition of the subjects. [source]


How neighborhoods matter for rural and urban children's language and cognitive development at kindergarten and Grade 4,

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Jennifer E.V. Lloyd
The authors took a population-based approach to testing how commonly studied neighborhood socioeconomic conditions are associated with the language and cognitive outcomes of residentially stable rural and urban children tracked from kindergarten (ages 5,6) to Grade 4 (ages 9,10). Child-level kindergarten Early Development Instrument (EDI) data were probabilistically linked to scores on Grade 4's Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA), 4 years later, and to socioeconomic data describing the children's residential neighborhoods. Multilevel analyses were performed for a study population of 5,022 children residing in 105 neighborhoods across British Columbia, Canada: 635 children in 20 rural neighborhoods and 4,825 children in 85 urban neighborhoods. Concentrated immigration consistently predicted better child outcomes. Moreover, the determinants of children's language and cognitive outcomes analyzed cross-sectionally differed from the determinants of outcomes analyzed longitudinally. Furthermore, there were notable differences in the extent of the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and rural and urban children's outcomes over time. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Seroepidemiology of hepatitis A, B, C, and E viruses infection among preschool children in Taiwan

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 1 2006
Jye-Bin Lin
Abstract Taiwan was a hyperendemic area for hepatitis A and B viruses (HAV and HBV) infection before late 1980s. To study the seroprevalence of hepatitis A, B, C, and E viruses (HCV and HEV) infection among preschool children in Taiwan, a community-based survey was carried out in 54 kindergartens in 10 urban areas, 10 rural areas, and 2 aboriginal areas randomly selected through stratified sampling. Serum specimens of 2,538 preschool children were screened for the hepatitis A, C, and E antibodies by a commercially available enzyme immunoassay and for HBV markers by radioimmunoassay methods. The multivariate-adjusted odd ratios (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated through the multiple logistic regression analysis. Females had a statistically significantly higher HAV seroprevalence than males. The seroprevalence of HCV infection increased significantly with age. The larger the sibship size, the higher the seroprevalence of HBV infection. Aboriginal children had a significantly higher seroprevalence of HBV and HEV infection and lower seroprevalence of HCV infection than non-aboriginal children. A significantly higher seroprevalence of HBV infection was found in rural children than urban children. There was no significant association between serostatus of HAV and HEV infection and between serostatus of HBV and HCV infection among preschool children in Taiwan. The poor environmental and hygienic conditions in the aboriginal areas might play a role in infection with HBV and HEV. J. Med. Virol. 78:18,23, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, inc. [source]


Rural and Urban Disparities in Caries Prevalence in Children with Unmet Dental Needs: The New England Children's Amalgam Trial

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 1 2008
Nancy Nairi Maserejian ScD
Abstract Objectives: To compare the prevalence of caries between rural and urban children with unmet dental health needs who participated in the New England Children's Amalgam Trial. Methods: Baseline tooth and surface caries were clinically assessed in children from rural Maine (n = 243) and urban Boston (n = 291), who were aged 6 to 10 years, with two or more posterior carious teeth and no previous amalgam restorations. Statistical analyses used negative binomial models for primary dentition caries and zero-inflated models for permanent dentition caries. Results: Urban children had a higher mean number of carious primary surfaces (8.5 versus 7.4) and teeth (4.5 versus 3.9) than rural children. The difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and toothbrushing frequency. In permanent dentition, urban children were approximately three times as likely to have any carious surfaces or teeth. However, rural/urban dwelling was not statistically significant in the linear analysis of caries prevalence among children with any permanent dentition caries. Covariates that were statistically significant in all models were age and number of teeth. Toothbrushing frequency was also important for permanent teeth. Conclusions: Within this population of New England children with unmet oral health needs, significant differences were apparent between rural and urban children in the extent of untreated dental decay. Results indicate that families who agree to participate in programs offering reduced cost or free dental care may present with varying amounts of dental need based on geographic location. [source]


Building a Partnership to Evaluate School-Linked Health Services: The Cincinnati School Health Demonstration Project

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 10 2005
Barbara L. Rose
Partners from the Cincinnati Health Department, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati wanted to determine if levels of school-linked care made a difference in student quality of life, school connectedness, attendance, emergency department use, and volume of referrals to health care specialists. School nurses, principals and school staff, parents and students, upper-level managers, and health service researchers worked together over a 2.5-year period to learn about and use new technology to collect information on student health, well-being, and outcome measures. Varying levels of school health care intervention models were instituted and evaluated. A standard model of care was compared with 2 models of enhanced care and service. The information collected from students, parents, nurses, and the school system provided a rich database on the health of urban children. School facilities, staffing, and computer technology, relationship building among stakeholders, extensive communication, and high student mobility were factors that influenced success and findings of the project. Funding for district-wide computerization and addition of school health staff was not secured by the end of the demonstration project; however, relationships among the partners endured and paved the way for future collaborations designed to better serve urban school children in Cincinnati. (J Sch Health. 2005;75(10):363-369) [source]


Posttraumatic stress in AIDS-orphaned children exposed to high levels of trauma: The protective role of perceived social support,

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 2 2009
Lucie Cluver
Poor urban children in South Africa are exposed to multiple community traumas, but AIDS-orphaned children are at particular risk for posttraumatic stress. This study examined the hypothesis that social support may moderate the relationship between trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress for this group. Four hundred twenty-five AIDS-orphaned children were interviewed using standardized measures of psychopathology. Compared to participants with low perceived social support, those with high perceived social support demonstrated significantly lower levels of PTSD symptoms after both low and high levels of trauma exposure. This suggests that strong perception of social support from carers, school staff, and friends may lessen deleterious effects of exposure to trauma, and could be a focus of intervention efforts to improve psychological outcomes for AIDS-orphaned children. [source]


Prevalence of allergy, patterns of allergic sensitization and allergy risk factors in rural and urban children

ALLERGY, Issue 9 2007
B. Majkowska, Wojciechowska
Background:, We aimed to compare the prevalence of allergic diseases and sensitization in children living in urban and rural areas and to identify potential risk/protection factors associated with allergy. Methods:, School children 12,16 years old, from urban community (n = 201) and rural area (n = 203) were recruited. The data obtained by questionnaire were referred to doctors' diagnosis, skin prick tests (SPTs), and serum specific and total IgE assessment. Results:, The prevalence of allergic diseases in urban children was significantly higher as compared with rural children [asthma 16.42%vs 1.97% (P < 0.001) allergic rhinitis 38.81%vs 10.84% (P < 0.001)]. Positive SPTs to at least one allergen was found in 63.7% of urban and 22.7% rural children (P < 0.001). Significantly higher percentage of allergic rural than urban children were monosensitized or sensitized to 2,4 allergens, but almost a fourfold higher percentage of allergic urban children was found to be sensitized to five or more allergens (P < 0.0001). The history of frequent upper respiratory factor (URT) infections, antibiotic therapy, tonsiltectomy/adenoidectomy were positively associated with development of atopy and sensitization. Conclusion:, Our findings confirm that residence of rural area is associated with a significant lower prevalence of allergic sensitization and symptoms in school children. Several risk and protective factors related to environment and style of life could be identified in both environments. [source]


Nutritional, developmental, and genetic influences on relative sitting height at high altitude,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2009
Sara Stinson
The study explores how nutritional status, developmental exposure to high-altitude hypoxia, and genetic ancestry influence relative sitting height in two groups of high-altitude Bolivian children aged 8 through 13 years of age: 253 rural Aymara children of very low socioeconomic status and 273 children of upper socioeconomic status from the capital city of La Paz. The rural Aymara children on average have longer trunks relative to stature, but there is also overlap in body proportions between the two groups of children. The 20% of each sample in the region of overlap was examined to investigate influences on relative sitting height. Nutritional effects on relative sitting height are suggested by the finding that Aymara children with relatively long legs are taller, heavier, and fatter than other Aymara children. Developmental and genetic influences on relative sitting height are suggested by the finding that high relative sitting heights in elite urban children are associated with a greater percentage of time lived at high altitude and with parents born in Bolivia. Separating developmental and ancestry effects is difficult because the two are closely interconnected in the urban children. The results of this study suggest that influences on growth in relative trunk and leg length are similar to those that affect other aspects of growth in Andean populations. They also highlight the fact that because relative sitting height gradually decreases prior to adolescence and then increases, the interpretation of variation in body proportions in children is not always straightforward. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Rural parents with urban children: social and economic implications of migration for the rural elderly in Thailand

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 3 2007
John Knodel
Abstract The present study explores the social and economic consequences of the migration of adult children to urban areas for rural parents in Thailand. Attention is given to the circumstances under which such migration takes place, including the role parents play in the process and the extent to which the implications of migration for the parents are taken into consideration. The analysis relies primarily on open-ended interviews conducted in 2004 with older age parents with migrant children in four purposely selected rural communities that were studied ten years earlier. Our findings suggest that migration of children to urban areas contributes positively to the material well-being of their elderly parents who remain in rural areas. Negative impacts of migration on social support, defined in terms of maintaining contact and visits, have been attenuated by the advent of technological changes in communication and also by improvements in transportation. Phone contact, especially through mobile phones, is now pervasive, in sharp contrast to the situation ten years earlier when it was extremely rare. Much of the change in Thailand in terms of the relationships between rural parents and their geographically dispersed adult children is quite consistent with the concept of the ,modified extended family', a perspective that has become common in discussions regarding elderly parents in industrial and post-industrial societies but rarely applied to the situation of elderly parents in developing country settings. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Life Events, Chronic Stressors, and Depressive Symptoms in Low-Income Urban Mothers With Asthmatic Children

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 4 2009
Joan Kub
ABSTRACT Objective: This secondary data analysis study examines the relationship between maternal sociodemographic variables, life events, chronic stressors, including asthma control and management and environmental stressors, and maternal depression. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive design study consisting of baseline data from participants enrolled in a randomized asthma communication educational intervention trial. Sample: 201 mothers of children with asthma (ages 6,12), recruited from community pediatric practices and emergency departments of 2 urban university hospitals. Measurement: Life events were measured using standardized items. Chronic stressors were measured using items from the International Asthma and Allergies in Childhood study and maternal and child exposure to violence. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. Results: Close to 25% of the mothers had high depressive symptoms. In separate multiple logistic regression models, education (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.07, 6.39) or unemployment (AOR=2.38; 95% CI=1.16, 4.90) and the use of quick relief medications (AOR=2.74; 95% CI=1.33, 5.66) for asthma were positively associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Implications include the need to assess maternal depressive symptoms of mothers of children with asthma, in order to improve asthma management for low-income urban children. [source]


Do Children in Rural Areas Still Have Different Access to Health Care?

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2009
Results from a Statewide Survey of Oregon's Food Stamp Population
ABSTRACT:,Purpose: To determine if rural residence is independently associated with different access to health care services for children eligible for public health insurance. Methods: We conducted a mail-return survey of 10,175 families randomly selected from Oregon's food stamp population (46% rural and 54% urban). With a response rate of 31%, we used a raking ratio estimation process to weight results back to the overall food stamp population. We examined associations between rural residence and access to health care (adjusting for child's age, child's race/ethnicity, household income, parental employment, and parental and child's insurance type). A second logistic regression model controlled for child's special health care needs. Findings: Compared with urban children (reference = 1.00), rural children were more likely to have unmet medical care needs (odds ratio [OR] 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-2.04), problems getting dental care (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.03-1.79), and at least one emergency department visit in the past year (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.10-1.81). After adjusting for special health care needs (more prevalent among rural children), there was no rural-urban difference in unmet medical needs, but physician visits were more likely among rural children. There were no statistically significant differences in unmet prescription needs, delayed urgent care, or having a usual source of care. Conclusions: These findings suggest that access disparities between rural and urban low-income children persist, even after adjusting for health insurance. Coupled with continued expansions in children's health insurance coverage, targeted policy interventions are needed to ensure the availability of health care services for children in rural areas, especially those with special needs. [source]


Urban-Rural Differences in Overweight Status and Physical Inactivity Among US Children Aged 10-17 Years

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2008
Jihong Liu ScD
ABSTRACT:,Context: Few studies have examined the prevalence of overweight status and physical inactivity among children and adolescents living in rural America. Purpose: We examined urban and rural differences in the prevalence of overweight status and physical inactivity among US children. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, restricted to children aged 10-17 (unweighted N = 47,757). Overweight status was defined as the gender- and age-specific body mass index (BMI) values at or above the 95th percentile. Physical inactivity was defined using parentally reported moderate-to-vigorous intensity leisure-time physical activity lasting for at least 20 minutes/d on less than three days in the past week. The 2003 Urban Influence Codes were used to define rurality. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine urban/rural differences in overweight status and physical inactivity after adjusting for potential confounders. Findings: Overweight status was more prevalent among rural (16.5%) than urban children (14.3%). After adjusting for covariates including physical activity, rural children had higher odds of being overweight than urban children (OR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.01-1.25). Minorities, children from families with lower socioeconomic status, and children living in the South experienced higher odds of being overweight. More urban children (29.1%) were physically inactive than rural children (25.2%) and this pattern remained after adjusting for covariates (OR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.73-0.86). Conclusions: The higher prevalence of overweight among rural children, despite modestly higher physical activity levels, calls for further research into effective intervention programs specifically tailored for rural children. [source]


Update: Health Insurance and Utilization of Care Among Rural Adolescents

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2005
Janice C. Probst PhD
ABSTRACT: Context: Adolescence is critical for the development of adult health habits. Disparities between rural and urban adolescents and between minority and white youth can have life-long consequences. Purpose: To compare health insurance coverage and ambulatory care contacts between rural minority adolescents and white and urban adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional design using data from the 1999,2000 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative sample of US households. Analysis was restricted to white, black, and Hispanic children aged 12 through 17 (8,503 observations). Outcome measures included health insurance, ambulatory visit within past year, usual source of care (USOC), and well visit within past year. Independent variables included race, residence, demographics, facilitating/enabling characteristics, and need. Results: Across races, rural adolescents were as likely to have insurance (86.8% vs 87.7%) but less likely to report a preventive visit (60.1% vs 65.5%) than urban children; residence did not affect the likelihood of a visit or a USOC. Minority rural adolescents were less likely than whites to be insured, report a visit, or have a USOC. Most race-based differences were not significant in multivariate analysis holding constant living situation, caretaker education, income, and insurance. Low caretaker English fluency, limited almost exclusively to Hispanics, was an impediment to all outcomes. Conclusions: Most barriers to care among rural and minority youth are attributable to factors originating outside the health care system, such as language, living situation, caretaker education, and income. A combination of outreach activities and programs to enhance rural schools and economic opportunities will be needed to improve coverage and utilization among adolescents. [source]


Socio-demographic and psychopathologic correlates of enuresis in urban Ethiopian children

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 4 2007
Menelik Desta
Abstract Aim: To examine the association between enuresis and psychopathology in urban Ethiopian children. Methods: A two-stage mental health survey of 5000 urban children found enuresis to be by far the most common disorder. Logistic regression modelling was carried out to determine the independent associations of a number of socio-demographic and psychopathological characteristics with enuresis. Results: Male sex, younger age and lower achieved educational grade of the child were all independently associated with childhood enuresis. The odds of having enuresis were significantly higher for children in families with significant financial worries and in children from homes where parents were separated. Children with DSMIII-R anxiety disorders, especially simple phobia, or disruptive behaviour disorders were found to have significantly higher odds of having enuresis. Conclusion: Psychopathology, both anxiety and behavioural disorders, as well as family stressors in urban Ethiopian children were found to be risk factors for enuresis. Although a cause-effect relationship could not be ascertained, the findings of higher association of psychopathology with enuresis in this and other studies indicate that there is a need for evaluating children with enuresis for the presence of concurrent psychopathology, especially in traditional societies where undetected psychopathology may be more common. [source]