Helena González-Casals

Adolescence is a key period for consolidating heathy lifestyles and proper eating habits that can last into adulthood. To analyze the diet quality of Spanish adolescents and its association with socioeconomic factors and health behaviors by gender, a cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the DESKcohort project, consisting of a biannual panel survey on health, health behaviors, and associated determinants, collected in secondary education centers. The study population consisted of 7319 students aged 12 to 18 years. Data were collected from October 2019 to March 2020. The dependent variable was diet quality score according to the Spanish adaptation of the Healthy Eating Index (S-HEI). The independent variables included were socioeconomic factors and health behaviors. We conducted linear regression separately by gender. Diet quality score was significantly higher for girls than for boys (68 and 65, respectively, p < 0.001). For both genders, poorer diet quality was associated with a low level of physical activity [−0.9 (95% CI = −1.6:−0.2) in boys, −1.2 (95% CI = −1.9:−0.4) in girls], alcohol use [−2.5 (95% CI = −3.7:−1.3) in boys, −1.0 (95% CI = −1.9:0.0) in girls], poor self-perceived health [−1.1 (95% CI = −2.4:0.2) in boys, −3.5 (95% CI = −4.6:−2.4) in girls], and having attended Intermediate Level Training Cycles [−2.9 (95% CI = −4.3:−1.5) in boys, −1.9 (95% CI = −3.5:−0.3) in girls]. In girls, poorer diet quality also was associated with low mood [−1.1 (95% CI = −1.9:−0.3)]. The variance was 9% in boys and 12% in girls. Our results highlight the need to consider socioeconomic and health-related factors, as well as gender, when conducting interventions to promote healthy eating among adolescents.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of tobacco and cannabis use, and their relationship, in a cohort of adolescents from Central Catalonia in the period 2012–2020. The study had a prospective longitudinal design with 828 students in the 4th year of Compulsory Secondary Education. In 2012, 828 adolescents answered a health behaviour survey; in 2016, 342; and in 2020, 265. The dependent variables were: exclusive last month tobacco use; exclusive last month cannabis use; polydrug use of tobacco and cannabis; and no use of tobacco and cannabis in the last month. Independent variables were sex and follow-up year. For the analysis, prevalences were used with a significance level of 0.05. Polydrug use went from 11.5% (95% CI: 7.4–17.6) among girls and 8.2% (95% CI: 4.3–15.2) among boys in 2012, to 7.0% (95% CI: 3.9–12.3) among girls and 13.7% (95% CI: 8.4–21.7) among boys in 2020. With regards to those girls who used polydrug in the last month in 2012, 33.3% (14.8–58.9) continued using it in 2016, and 22.2% (7.9–48.6) continued in 2020; among boys, 33.3% (14.8–58.9) of those polydrug users in 2012 continued using it in 2016, and 44.4% (14.5–79.0) continued in 2020. There is association between tobacco and cannabis use, and there is an important percentage of young people who do polydrug consumption at very early ages.

This study aimed to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social situation, self-perceived health status, and mental well-being of adolescents in Catalonia during home confinement, and to evaluate factors that are associated with poor overall mental well-being. An online cross-sectional study among a cohort of students (14–18 years old) of central Catalonia (DESKcohort) was performed during June–July 2020. Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to identify variables associated with “poor overall well-being,” measured by the short version of the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Out of 303 participants, 42.1% reported a decrease in family income, and 32.8% a loss of parental employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and these percentages were higher among people living in low socioeconomic neighborhoods (53.3% and 43.2%, respectively). Overall, 56.8% presented a poor overall well-being. Participants reporting a decrease in their family’s income (aPR = 1.33) and those knowing a close person or family who died of COVID-19 (aPR = 1.42) were more likely to report a poor overall well-being. This study highlights the patterns of inequality and social vulnerability for COVID-19 pandemic outcomes. Considering social inequalities, interventions are needed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the physical and the psychological wellbeing of children and their families.

The aim of this study was to identify changes in the hazardous consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis, due to the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 in a cohort of schooled adolescents from Central Catalonia. We also analyzed the effect of the individual and social factors on risky consumption during confinement. This longitudinal study involved a subsample of 303 adolescents aged 14–18 years, who were attending 4th year of compulsory secondary education (ESO), 2nd year of college preparation (baccalaureate), or Vocational and Educational Training (VET). We collected data before COVID-19 lockdown (October 2019–February 2020) and 2 months after the lockdown ended. We estimated the prevalence of risky substance use in the sample at baseline for each independent variable. We used Poisson regression models with robust variance to compute the Cumulative Incidence (CI) and Relative Risk (RR), with their respective 95% confidence interval. We found that VET students had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher risk of substance use: binge drinking (RR = 3.21 (95%CI: 1.00–10.34)); hazardous drinking of alcohol (RR = 3.75 (95%CI: 1.12–12.54)), hazardous consumption of cannabis (RR = 3.75 (95%CI: 0.65–21.59)) and daily smoking of tobacco (RR = 4.82 (95%CI: 1.74–13.39)). The results showed a general trend of reduction of consumption during COVID-19 confinement period. This study suggests that VET students were more likely to engage in hazardous drinking of alcohol and daily smoking of tobacco. No statistically significant differences were found for the other age groups and variables.

Breakfast has a critical role in energy balance and dietary regulation. Consequently, it is considered an important component of a healthy diet, especially in adolescence, when there are great opportunities to consolidate habits and establish future patterns of healthiness in adulthood. Socioeconomic position (SEP) causes inequalities that are reflected in health behaviors, physical activity, mental health, and diet. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the 2019–2020 DESKcohort project (Spain) to explore the relationships between breakfast and sociodemographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, and school performance of 7319 adolescents. Our findings showed that the prevalence of skipping breakfast every day was 19.4% in girls and 13.7% in boys and was related to students’ SEP. The risk of skipping breakfast was 30% higher in girls from the most disadvantaged SEP, in comparison to those in the most advanced SEP (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.11–1.54). Also, boys from the most disadvantaged SEP showed 28% higher risk of skipping breakfast than those in the most advanced SEP (PR = 1.28; 95% CI = 1.04–1.59). In conclusion, future public policies should be adapted considering a SEP and gender perspective to avoid increasing nutritional and health inequalities.

Adolescence is a critical period in the consolidation of healthy lifestyles that can last into adulthood. To analyze changes in food consumption and eating behaviors in high-school adolescents during the first confinement, a cross-sectional study was conducted at the end of confinement in Spain. Changes in the frequency or quantity of consumption of different types of food and food-related behaviors were analyzed. Socioeconomic and health-related variables were also considered. To determine whether dietary changes were related to socioeconomic position (SEP), Poisson regression models with robust variance were estimated. Overall, there were some changes towards a healthier diet such as an increase in fruit consumption (38.9%) and a decrease in the consumption of soft drinks (49.8%), sweets and pastries (39.3%), and convenience foods (49.2%). Some changes, however, were related to less healthy behaviors, such as a more irregular pattern of meal distribution (39.9%) or an increase in snacking between meals (56.4%). Changes towards less healthy eating were also related to students’ SEP. The risk of worsening the diet was found to be 21% higher in adolescents from a more disadvantaged SEP. Future public policies could be adapted to avoid increasing nutritional and health inequalities.