No abstract

The objective of this study was to describe and explain inequalities in perinatal mortality by educational level and occupational social class in Barcelona for the years 1993-1997. This was a case-control study. Cases were singleton perinatal deaths, controls were singleton live births obtained from a 2% random sample of births. The association among educational level, social class, other confounding and explanatory variables and perinatal mortality was studied through crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) obtained by logistic regression. The study comprised 423 cases and 1032 controls. The model with mother's age and educational level showed that women with primary education had an OR of 1.75 (95% CI: 1.26-2.42), this association disappearing when explanatory variables were included. We also found inequalities by educational level in fetal mortality. These results point out the need to improve the living conditions, behavioural factors and also the management of pregnancy, labour and the health care of the newborn of these mothers with greater risk.

The aim of this study was to examine relationships between activPAL™-determined sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) with academic achievement. A total of 120 undergraduates (N = 57 female; 20.6 ± 2.3 years) participated in the study. Academic achievement was measured as the grade point average obtained from all completed courses. Participants wore on the right tight an activPAL™ for 7 days to determine total sedentary time, total number of sedentary breaks, sedentary bouts, standing time, light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Separate multiple linear regression models were performed to examine associations between SB variables and academic achievement. Light PA, MVPA, total sedentary time, total standing time, or total number of sedentary breaks were not related to academic achievement. Independently of PA, the amount of time spent in sedentary bouts of 10-20min during weekdays was positively related to academic achievement. Given that college students spend the majority of their workday in environments that encourage prolonged sitting, these data suggest that interruptions in prolonged periods of sitting time every 10-20min via short breaks may optimize cognitive operations associated with academic performance.

MPA may benefit working memory; however, specific domains of leisure-time sedentary behavior may have an unfavorable influence on working memory and academic performance regardless of time spent in PA.

Objective-In recent decades, in most European countries young adult mortality has risen, or at best has remained stable. The aim of this study was to describe trends in mortality attributable to the principal causes of death: AIDS, drug overdose, suicide and motor vehicle traYc accidents, among adults aged between 15 and 34 years in three European cities (Barcelona, Bologna and Munich), over the period 1986 to 1995. Methods-The population studied consisted of all deaths that occurred between 1986 and 1995 among residents of Barcelona, Bologna and Munich aged from 15 to 34 years. Information about deaths was obtained from mortality registers. The study variables were sex, age, the underlying cause of death and year of death. Causes of death studied were: drug overdose, AIDS, suicide and motor vehicle traYc accidents. Age standardised mortality rates (direct adjustment) were obtained in all three cities for the age range 15-34. To investigate trends in mortality over the study period Poisson regression models were fitted, obtaining the average relative risk (RR) associated with a one year increment. Results-Young adult mortality increased among men in Barcelona and