Does More Sedentary Time Associate With Higher Risks for Sleep Disorder Among Adolescents? A Pooled Analysis

Analyzing EEG patterns in young adults exposed to different acrophobia levels: a VR study

Introduction

The primary objective of this research is to examine acrophobia, a widely prevalent and highly severe phobia characterized by an overwhelming dread of heights, which has a substantial impact on a significant proportion of individuals worldwide. The objective of our study was to develop a real-time and precise instrument for evaluating levels of acrophobia by utilizing electroencephalogram (EEG) signals.

Methods

EEG data was gathered from a sample of 18 individuals diagnosed with acrophobia. Subsequently, a range of classifiers, namely Support Vector Classifier (SVC), K-nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF), Decision Tree (DT), Adaboost, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), were employed in the analysis. These methodologies encompass both machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques.

Results

The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models demonstrated notable efficacy. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model demonstrated a training accuracy of 96% and a testing accuracy of 99%, whereas the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model attained a training accuracy of 96% and a testing accuracy of 97%. The findings of this study highlight the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in accurately categorizing real-time degrees of acrophobia using EEG data. Further investigation using correlation matrices for each level of acrophobia showed substantial EEG frequency band connections. Beta and Gamma mean values correlated strongly, suggesting cognitive arousal and acrophobic involvement could synchronize activity. Beta and Gamma activity correlated strongly with acrophobia, especially at higher levels.

Discussion

The results underscore the promise of this innovative approach as a dependable and sophisticated method for evaluating acrophobia. This methodology has the potential to make a substantial contribution toward the comprehension and assessment of acrophobia, hence facilitating the development of more individualized and efficacious therapeutic interventions.

A pooled analysis of temporal trends in the prevalence of anxiety-induced sleep loss among adolescents aged 12-15 years across 29 countries

Background

Previous studies examining trends in sleep loss among adolescents have mainly focused on single countriy and region. This study aims to analyze temporal trends in the prevalence of anxiety-induced sleep loss among adolescents from 29 countries in five regions.

Methods

This study used data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey 2003-2018, which surveyed 215,380 adolescents from 29 countries with at least two cross-sectional surveys per country. The weighted country-specific prevalence of anxiety-induced sleep loss and trends across the survey years were evaluated. Random- or fixed-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate pooled prevalence and temporal trends across 29 countries.

Results

Temporal variations in anxiety-induced sleep loss across countries were identified. Increasing (Suriname, Vanuatu, and Myanmar), decreasing (Namibia, Jamaica, the Philippines, Samoa, and Indonesia), and stable (all other countries) trends in anxiety-induced sleep loss were noted. The pooled weighted prevalence of anxiety-induced sleep loss was 11.35 and 10.67% in the first and last surveys, respectively. There was no meaningful change in the propensity to have anxiety-related sleep disorders over time, with the reduction and OR of these two surveys being 0.54 (-0.53-1.61) and 0.98 (0.88-1.10). For subgroup analyses, no significant differences in pooled anxiety-induced sleep loss trends were seen between the two surveys for different sexes, regions, incomes, survey years in the first wave, survey periods, or number of surveys.

Conclusion

Trends in the prevalence of anxiety-induced sleep loss in adolescents varied significantly across different countries. Generally, a stable trend was observed in 21 of the 29 countries surveyed. Our study provides data that can aid policymakers in establishing country-specific strategies for reducing anxiety-induced sleep loss in adolescents.

Physical activity, sleep quality and life satisfaction in adolescents: A cross-sectional survey study

Background

Physical activity, sleep is an important component of adolescents' 24-h movement behavior, and life satisfaction predicts adolescent physical and mental health. However, few studies have explored the relationship between the two variables among Chinese high school students. Consequently, this study aimed to explore the relationship between sleep quality and life satisfaction among Chinese high school students.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2020 in five high schools in Xuchang City, China. High school students from senior 1 to senior 3 were asked to fill up a questionnaire of demographic characteristics and validated screen instructions for sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale). The multivariate regression model was applied to explore the association between sleep quality and life satisfaction.

Results

A total of 1127 individuals (51.1% males) participated in this survey, and the prevalence of poor sleep quality was 42.3%. The mean score on the Satisfaction with Life Scale was 16.72 ± 5.67, according to the corresponding scoring criteria, with 15-19 being generally dissatisfied. After controlling for demographic variables, the contribution of subjective sleep quality (β = - 0.181, p < 0.01), sleep duration (β = - 0.080, p < 0.01) and daytime dysfunction (β = - 0.311, p < 0.01) to life satisfaction of high school students increased to 23.2%, indicating that subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, and daytime dysfunction were 22.9% predictive of life satisfaction among high school students. And also, physical activity on schooldays and weekend days were associated with better sleep quality and higher life satisfaction (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Among Chinese high school students, the prevalence of sleep problems was high, and the majority of students held moderate life satisfaction. Sleep quality was positively correlated with life satisfaction among Chinese high school students, with better sleep quality resulting in higher life satisfaction among students.

Do Global Adolescents With Food Insecurity Feel Lonely?

As a proxy measure of socioeconomic status, food insecurity is understudied in mental health-related research. This study aimed to explore the association between food insecurity and loneliness in adolescents. Using cross-sectional data from the Global Student Health Survey (GSHS), 164,993 adolescent participants were included in this study. Food insecurity, loneliness, and other covariates were assessed by self-reported questionnaire. Multivariable logistics regression considering complex survey was used to explore the association between food insecurity and loneliness. The prevalence of loneliness was 10.8% in adolescents. With higher levels of food insecurity, the prevalence of loneliness in general increased, but “most of the time” was the most frequently reported item in terms of food insecurity. Adolescents who reported severe food insecurity had significantly greater odds for loneliness: (1) being most of the time [odd ratio (OR) = 2.54, 95% CI = 2.13–3.02]; (2) always hungry (OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.55–2.51). Of all the 53 countries, adolescents from 39 countries reported significantly higher prevalence of loneliness when exposed to food insecurity. The pooled OR was 1.74 (1.60–1.89) with a negligible heterogeneity (higher I-squared was 34.2%). Adolescents with food insecurity were more likely to be exposed to be lonely. Eliminating socioeconomic disparities in adolescents might be a good approach to promote mental health in adolescents. Future studies are encouraged to utilize longitudinal studies to confirm or negate our study findings.