Feeling safe: a critical look at the effect of neighborhood safety features and perceptions on childhood symptoms of depression.

Background: Physical characteristics and perceptions of an environment can have enduring effects on one's mental health. The present study aimed to determine whether a set of measures of neighborhood safety - independent built environment features, parents' perception of neighborhood safety and community cohesion, and children's perception of neighborhood safety - best related to symptoms of depression in young boys and girls from Montréal, Québec.

Methods: Data were from the Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth (QUALITY) cohort.

To use or not to use behavioural science evidence in designing health promotion interventions: Identification of targets for capacity building.

Objectives: The behavioural sciences provide useful evidence to design effective health promotion interventions, but evidence is infrequently integrated in practice. This study examined associations between theoretical domains framework (TDF) constructs and public health practitioners' use of behavioural science evidence to plan public health actions.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, a convenience sample of 160 practitioners were recruited from public health agencies across Canada.

Adiposity and cardiac autonomic function in children with a family history of obesity.

Purpose: Data on associations between adiposity and heart rate variability (HRV) in prepubertal children are limited. We examined the associations between adiposity indices and HRV, independent of lifestyle behaviors, comparing multiple indicators of adiposity, and explored differences between boys and girls.

Methods: Data stem from 469 participants of the QUALITY cohort (630 children aged 8-10 years with a parental history of obesity).

The association between depressive symptoms and overweight or obesity in prepubertal children: Findings from the QUALITY cohort.

Background: Youth obesity and depression are public health concerns. Although meta-analyses suggest a positive association between those conditions in adults and adolescents, evidence remains unclear in prepubertal children. We examined the bidirectional associations between levels of depressive symptoms and weight status in 8-10-year-old children with a parental history of obesity, over two years, and whether they differ by sex.

Neighbourhood Environments and Lifestyle Behaviours in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes.

Objectives: Early prevention strategies are needed to mitigate the high risk of cardiovascular disease in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Residential neighbourhood features can promote healthy lifestyle behaviours and reduce cardiovascular risk, but less is known about their role in lifestyle behaviours in adolescents with T1D, and no studies used comparisons to healthy controls.

Methods: We examined associations between residential neighbourhood features and lifestyle behaviours in adolescents with T1D and healthy controls.

School-based interventions targeting substance use among young people in low-and-middle-income countries: A scoping review.

Background And Aim: Globally, harmful substance use is among the leading causes of premature deaths in the general population, and most of these behaviours are initiated during pre-adolescence to young adulthood. Preventing the onset or reducing the prevalence of substance use among young people is thus a global health priority. Diverse school-based interventions have been implemented in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs); however, evidence regarding their theoretical underpinnings and core components is lacking.

Prospective associations between neighborhood features and body mass index in Montreal adolescents.

Purpose: To investigate the association between the neighborhood built environment and trajectories of body mass index (BMI) in youth.

Methods: Data were collected in a prospective study of 1293 adolescents in Montreal. Built environment variables were obtained from public databases for road networks, land use, and the Canadian Census.

Family Meal Environment Differentially Conditions the Prospective Association between Early Childhood Screen Time and Key Social Relationships in Adolescent Girls.

Despite screen time recommendations, children are increasingly spending time on electronic devices, rendering it an important risk factor for subsequent social and developmental outcomes. Sharing meals could offer a way to promote psychosocial development. This study examines the interaction between family meal environment and early childhood screen time on key adolescent social relationships.

Early Lifestyle Determinants of Adiposity Trajectories from Childhood into Late Adolescence.

The aim of this study was to examine associations of childhood physical activity, sedentary behavior, and dietary intake with adiposity trajectories from childhood to adolescence. Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth (QUALITY) cohort ( = 630) data from 3 time points (8-10, 10-12, and 15-17 years) for 377 Caucasian children with parental obesity were analyzed. Height and weight, physical activity and sedentary behavior (7-day accelerometry), screen time (self-reported), and dietary intake (three 24-hour diet recalls) were measured.

Children and chrono-exercise: Timing of physical activity on school and weekend days depends on sex and obesity status.

Recommendations for physical activity (PA) typically focus on frequency, intensity, duration, and type, but timing (chrono-exercise) is also important. The objective of this study is to describe when children are active on school and weekend days and explore PA timing across sex and body mass index (BMI) categories. 359 children (53% male), aged 9.

Multidimensional school features associated with physical activity among youth at risk of obesity: an exploratory principal component and generalized estimating equation analysis.

Background: Schools may be high-leverage points for the promotion of physical activity (PA), yet little is known about school built and social environments among youth at high risk of obesity.

Purpose: To characterise school built and social environments that may be salient for PA and to examine associations between school PA environments and PA in youth at risk of obesity.

Methods: Data from youth attending 206 schools (314 youth in 2005-2008, and 129 youth in 2008-2010) within the QUALITY cohort study, a longitudinal investigation of youth at high risk of obesity were used.

Trajectories of cardiorespiratory fitness from childhood to adolescence: Findings from the QUALITY cohort.

Estimate the shape and number of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) trajectories from childhood to adolescence; and verify whether CRF trajectory membership can be predicted by sex, biological maturation, body weight, body composition and physical activity (PA) in childhood. Data from QUALITY were used. Participants attended baseline (8-10 y old,  = 630) and follow-ups 2 years ( = 564) and 7 years ( = 359) after baseline.

The association between income inequality and adolescent body mass index: findings from the COMPASS study (2016-2019).

Objectives: Income inequality has been linked to high and unhealthy body mass index (BMI), though there is a dearth of evidence in adolescents. Therefore, this study examines the association between income inequality and BMI in a large sample of Canadian adolescents.

Methods: A pooled cross-sectional design was used.

The longitudinal effects of maternal parenting practices on children's body mass index z-scores are lagged and differential.

Background: The longitudinal relation between parenting practices and styles with children's body mass index z-scores (zBMI) is poorly understood. Previous studies suggest the relationship may be complex, but small samples and short follow-ups diminish the strength of the evidence. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether the relationship is bidirectional, time-varying, and lagged using data from a large, representative birth cohort of Quebec children.

Examining public health practitioners' perceptions and use of behavioural sciences to design health promotion interventions.

Background: Behavioural sciences have been shown to support the development of more effective interventions aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles. However, the operationalization of this knowledge seems to be sub-optimal in public health. Effective knowledge transfer strategies are thus needed to optimize the use of knowledge from behavioural sciences in this field.

Neighbourhood social deprivation and risk of prostate cancer.

Background: Striking geographic variations in prostate cancer incidence suggest an aetiological role for spatially-distributed factors. We assessed whether neighbourhood social deprivation, which can reflect limited social contacts, unfavourable lifestyle and environmental exposures, is associated with prostate cancer risk.

Methods: In 2005-2012, we recruited 1931 incident prostate cancer cases and 1994 controls in a case-control study in Montreal, Canada.

Association between annual exposure to air pollution and systolic blood pressure among adolescents in Montréal, Canada.

Introduction: In adults, chronic exposure to air pollution is associated with elevated blood pressure, but few studies have examined this relationship in youth. We investigated the association between annual ambient concentrations of air pollutants (fine particulate matter [PM2.5] and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) among adolescents in Montréal, Canada.

Impact of Unmet Social Needs, Scarcity, and Future Discounting on Adherence to Treatment in Children With Asthma: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases of childhood and disproportionately affects children with lower socioeconomic status. Controller medications such as inhaled corticosteroids significantly reduce asthma exacerbations and improve symptoms. However, a large proportion of children still have poor asthma control, in part owing to suboptimal adherence.

Invited Commentary: Cross-Sectional Studies and Causal Inference-It's Complicated.

In this issue of the Journal, Savitz and Wellenius (Am J Epidemiol. 2023;192(4):514-516) discuss the contribution of cross-sectional studies to causal inference when the data are used to address etiological research questions. We elaborate on their thoughts with a discussion of the conditions needed for addressing etiology with the cross-sectional design, using a modern causal inference lens.

Adolescents' reports of chaos within the family home environment: Investigating associations with lifestyle behaviours and obesity.

Objective: Disorganised and chaotic home environments may hinder the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviours and contribute to excessive weight gain among adolescents. We examined whether self-reported level of chaos within the family home environment is associated with lifestyle behaviours and obesity in adolescent girls and boys.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 3rd wave of the Québec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth (QUALITY) study were analyzed.

Determinants of mechanical efficiency trajectories from childhood to adolescence: Findings from the QUALITY cohort.

Purpose: To estimate the shape and number of mechanical efficiency (ME) trajectories from childhood to adolescence; and verify whether ME trajectory membership can be predicted by sex, biological maturation, body weight, body composition and physical activity (PA) in childhood.

Methods: Data from QUALITY, an ongoing cohort study on the natural history of obesity, were used. Participants attended a baseline visit (8-10 years, n = 630) and follow-up visits two years (n = 564), and seven years (n = 377) later.