Proper nutrition during pregnancy may be important for maternal health and fetal growth and development. In Finland, targeted recommendations are given to guide pregnant women in their food choice and dietary supplement use so that they may obtain adequate nutritional status and meet the increased need for nutrients. The aims of the present study were to examine food choices, nutrient intake and dietary supplement use of pregnant Finnish women in association with demographic variables. One thousand and seventy-five families were invited to a birth cohort study during 1998 -9. Mothers of 797 newborns completed a validated 181-item food-frequency questionnaire from which the food and nutrient intakes were calculated. The information about supplement use was collected concerning the whole pregnancy. The results of the present study suggest that healthy food choices are rather common among pregnant Finnish women and the choices are positively correlated with age and education. Nutrient supplements were used by 85 % of the women. Supplements were favoured by the older and well-educated women and by those who had normal weight before pregnancy. Of the women in the present study, 31 % received vitamin A-containing supplements, although it is not recommended during pregnancy. Taking food and supplementation into account, the intake of vitamin D did not meet the dietary recommendation and folic acid intake was below recommendation in 44 % of the women. Therefore there seemed to be unnecessary nutrient supplementation and at the same time lack of relevant supplementation among these pregnant women.

School burnout can be defined as consisting of exhaustion due to school demands, cynical, and detached attitude toward one’s school, and feelings of inadequacy as a student ( Kiuru, Aunola, Nurmi, Leskinen, & Salmela-Aro, 2008 ; Salmela-Aro & Näätänen, 2005 ; Schaufeli, Martínez, Pinto, Salanova, & Bakker, 2002 ). The first aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which schools differ in school-related burnout. Moreover, the aim was to examine the extent to which school-related and background factors are associated with school burnout at the school level and at the individual level. The participants were 58,657 students from 431 comprehensive schools and 29,515 students from 228 upper secondary schools who filled in a questionnaire measuring their school burnout, school-related variables (i.e., negative school climate, positive motivation received from teachers, support from the school), and background variables (i.e., gender, grade-point average, socio-economic status, and family structure). The results revealed only small differences between schools in school burnout. Among the comprehensive school students the results at the school-level showed that negative school climate typical of the school was positively related, while support from school shared among school members was negatively related to school-related burnout. Among upper secondary school students, in turn, positive motivation received from teachers typical of the school was negatively related to school-related burnout. At the individual level, negative school climate was positively related, and support from school and positive motivation received from teachers were negatively related to burnout among both the comprehensive and upper secondary school students. In addition, girls and those with lower GPA experienced higher levels of school burnout compared to boys and those with higher GPA.

school climate is associated with adolescents' health, wellbeing and received health education.

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BackgroundThis study compared parental smoking with school personnel smoking in relation to adolescents' smoking behaviours, alcohol use, and illicit drug use.MethodsA cross-sectional survey for 24,379 adolescents was linked to a survey for 1946 school employees in 136 Finnish schools in 2004-2005. Surveys included smoking prevalence reported by school staff, adolescents' reports of school staff and parental smoking, adolescents' own smoking behaviours, alcohol use, and illicit drug use. Multilevel analyses were adjusted for individual and school-level confounding factors.ResultsParental smoking was associated with all health risk behaviours among both sexes (risk range 1.39 to 1.95 for other outcomes; Odds Ratio OR for smoking cessation 0.64, 95% Confidence Interval CI: 0.57, 0.72 among boys, 0.72; 0.64, 0.81 among girls). Among boys, high vs. low smoking prevalence among school personnel was associated with higher probability of smoking (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.01,1.41), higher frequency of smoking during school time (Cumulative Odds Ratio COR 1.81; 95% CI 1.32, 2.48), frequent alcohol use (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.01, 1.50), illicit drug use (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.16, 1.69), and higher odds of reporting adults smoking at school (COR 1.51; 95% CI 1.09, 2.09). Among girls, high smoking prevalence among school personnel was related to higher odds of smoking (OR 1.18; 95% CI 1.02, 1.37) and lower odds of smoking cessation (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.72, 0.99).ConclusionParental smoking and school personnel smoking are both associated with adolescents' health risk behaviours but the association of parental smoking seems to be stronger.