Prevalence of Paid Sex and Associated Factors Among Women and Men Attending HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Prospective Cohort.

Paid sex is associated with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, which are highly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, few data exist on this sexual practice among the general population in SSA, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where data on paid sex mainly comes from sex workers. In the DRC, most HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) centers do not discuss paid sex as a risk factor.

Efficacy of Emotionally Focused Therapy among Spanish-speaking couples: study protocol of a randomized clinical trial in Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and Spain.

Background: Couple relationship distress is common and associated with poor physical, psychological, and relational outcomes for both partners. Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples (EFT) is a short-term structured approach based on attachment theory that integrates a humanistic, experiential approach to restructuring emotional experience and a systemic structural approach to restructuring interactions. This model has been shown to be an effective treatment for couple distress.

Matched and Fully Private? A New Self-Generated Identification Code for School-Based Cohort Studies to Increase Perceived Anonymity.

Anonymous questionnaires are frequently used in research with adolescents in order to obtain sincere answers about sensitive topics. Most longitudinal studies include self-generated identification codes (SGICs) to match information. Typical elements include a combination of letters and digits from personal data.

Religiosity and Sexual Initiation Among Hispanic Adolescents: The Role of Sexual Attitudes.

Religiosity and sexuality present numerous interconnections. Little is known regarding the specific causal pathways between each religiosity dimension and sexual behavior. The objectives of this study were (1) to explore the relationship between religiosity (measured through attendance at religious services, salience, and prayer) and sexual initiation in adolescents and (2) to establish the role of sexual permissiveness as mediator of the impact produced by religiosity in sexual initiation.

Social features in internet-based programs to prevent alcohol consumption among adolescents: a scoping review.

Alcohol consumption among adolescents is a social and public health issue. School-based programs are needed to prevent the onset of alcohol consumption during adolescence. Information and communication technologies offer new promising approaches to deliver preventive programs to these populations.

Adolescents' Alcohol Use: Does the Type of Leisure Activity Matter? A Cross-National Study.

Unlabelled: The main objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between structured, unstructured, and family leisure activities on the frequency of adolescent alcohol intake across three different countries (Spain, Peru, and The Netherlands). The self-control of adolescents was also investigated as a moderator in the relationship between leisure activities and alcohol consumption.

Methodology: This research involved 4608 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 from three countries (Spain, Peru, and The Netherlands).

Assessing Adolescent Dating Violence in the YourLife Project: Proposal of an Instrument for Spanish-Speaking Countries.

Background: Several instruments have been developed to assess adolescent dating violence but only few have been validated in Spanish-speaking settings. Some instruments are too long and may not be feasible to include them in a multipurpose questionnaire. We developed an instrument to be used in the YourLife project, an international project about young people lifestyles.

Connections between Family Assets and Positive Youth Development: The Association between Parental Monitoring and Affection with Leisure-Time Activities and Substance Use.

This study aimed to determine the associations between parental monitoring and affection and three adolescent lifestyle aspects: constructive leisure, non-constructive leisure and substance use. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four countries (Chile, Mexico, Spain and Peru). Adolescents aged 12-15 self-completed a multi-purpose questionnaire.

Relationship Power Imbalance and Known Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence in Couples Planning to Get Married: A Baseline Analysis of the AMAR Cohort Study.

The increased interest on measuring violence in romantic relationships has led to the identification of some risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) in its different forms. Some of them are often present from the onset of the relationships. However, little attention has been paid to the engagement period.

Association of the Dietary-Based Diabetes-Risk Score (DDS) with the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) project.

It is crucial to identify people at risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to implement preventive interventions in order to address these pandemics. A simple score exclusively based on dietary components, the Dietary-Based Diabetes-Risk Score (DDS) showed a strong inverse association with incident T2DM. The objective was to assess the association between DDS and the risk of GDM in a cohort of Spanish university graduates.

Leisure activities and alcohol consumption among adolescents from Peru and El Salvador.

Introduction: Structured and unstructured leisure are known protective and risk factors, respectively, for alcohol consumption during adolescence. However, little is known about the interaction between the two leisure types and alcohol consumption.

Method: A cross-sectional study was performed among high-school students in El Salvador and Peru.

Forced sexual intercourse and its association with HIV status among people attending HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing in a healthcare center in Kinshasa (DRC).

Introduction: Sexual violence, an HIV determinant, is an integrated behavior in the D.R.Congo.

Pre-pregnancy adherences to empirically derived dietary patterns and gestational diabetes risk in a Mediterranean cohort: the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) project.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the adherence to empirically derived dietary patterns and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk and of healthy lifestyles with the prevention of GDM defining an overall healthy score. The Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra project is a Mediterranean cohort of university graduates started in 1999. We included 3455 pregnant women.

The Sooner, the Worse? Association between Earlier Age of Sexual Initiation and Worse Adolescent Health and Well-being Outcomes.

This cross-sectional study assesses the association between age of sexual initiation during adolescence and a selection of well-being outcomes regarding that first relationship. High-school adolescents from El Salvador (2,686) and from Peru (3,399) replied to a paper-pencil questionnaire. Those who were sexually initiated replied to several questions regarding their age at sexual initiation, condom use, satisfaction and reasons/circumstances for that sexual relationship.

Soft drink consumption and gestational diabetes risk in the SUN project.

Background & Aims: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevalence is increasing worldwide. To the best of our knowledge the specific evaluation of soft drink consumption as a risk factor for developing GDM has only been conducted in the Nurses' Health Study II.

Objective: To investigate the incidence of GDM according to soft drink consumption in the SUN project.

Male condom use, multiple sexual partners and HIV: a prospective case-control study in Kinshasa (DRC).

In the Democratic Republic of Congo no previous studies have assessed the factors associated with different patterns of condom use and with multiple sexual partners, and the association between condom use simultaneously taking into account multiple sexual partnerships, and HIV infection. We carried out a prospective case-control study. From December 2010 until June 2012, 1630 participants aged 15-49 getting HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing in a hospital in Kinshasa were selected.

Factors that lead to changes in sexual behaviours after a negative HIV test: protocol for a prospective cohort study in Kinshasa.

Background: Considering the high percentage of couples in which one or both members are HIV negative, the frequency of transmission among non-regular partners and the probabilities of non-disclosure, attention should be paid to people getting a negative HIV test at the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT). Research has shown that a negative HIV test may be followed by a change in sexual behaviours. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where most HIV infections occur, there are few studies that have analysed the factors associated with changes in sexual risk behaviours after a negative HIV test at the VCT clinic.

Project YOURLIFE (What Young People Think and Feel about Relationships, Love, Sexuality, and Related Risk Behavior): Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Protocol.

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies affect adolescent sexual health and are serious public health concerns. They result from sexual intercourse in adolescence, which is usually associated with multiple partners, unprotected sex, and condom misuse. This behavior is related to socio-ecological factors that influence lifestyles.

High Sodium Intake Is Associated With Self-Reported Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross Sectional and Case Control Analysis Within the SUN Cohort.

Sodium intake is a potential environmental factor for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of sodium intake with rheumatoid arthritis. We performed a cross-sectional study nested in a highly educated cohort investigating dietary habits as determinants of disease.

Alcohol and Difficulty Conceiving in the SUN Cohort: A Nested Case-Control Study.

The role of alcohol on fertility remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between alcohol and specific alcoholic beverages consumption and the risk of difficulty getting pregnant. We used a case-control study nested within the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort, a prospective, dynamic and multipurpose cohort of 21,705 Spanish university graduates, followed biennially with mailed questionnaires.

Safe-sex belief and sexual risk behaviours among adolescents from three developing countries: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study intends to evaluate whether the belief that condoms are 100% effective in protecting against HIV infection is associated with sexual risk behaviours among youth.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in representative samples of high-school students in the Philippines, El Salvador and Peru. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire.

Misconceptions about HIV infection in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo): a case-control study on knowledge, attitudes and practices.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of HIV-related misconceptions in an outpatient centre of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and analyse the association between these beliefs and HIV infection.

Methods: A case-control study was carried out from December 2010 until June 2012. We assessed 1630 participants aged 15-49 attending a primary outpatient centre in Kinshasa: 762 HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing attendees and 868 blood donors.