Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental health

Objective: Amongst Australian youth, there is currently a lack of understanding of the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions and links with modifiable lifestyle behaviours, mental health and other socio-demographics. This paper aims to address this gap. Methods: Austral...

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Main Authors: Bridie Osman, Matthew Sunderland, Emma K. Devine, Louise Thornton, Felice Jacka, Maree Teesson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020025000068
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author Bridie Osman
Matthew Sunderland
Emma K. Devine
Louise Thornton
Felice Jacka
Maree Teesson
author_facet Bridie Osman
Matthew Sunderland
Emma K. Devine
Louise Thornton
Felice Jacka
Maree Teesson
author_sort Bridie Osman
collection DOAJ
description Objective: Amongst Australian youth, there is currently a lack of understanding of the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions and links with modifiable lifestyle behaviours, mental health and other socio-demographics. This paper aims to address this gap. Methods: Australian adolescents (N = 5014, Mage=14.7, SD=0.80) completed a self-report survey assessing noncommunicable diseases/developmental conditions, sex, socio-economic status (SES), lifestyle behaviours and mental health. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate the associations between these variables. The moderating effects of sex and SES were investigated by including interaction terms in each regression model. Results: 45.6% adolescents reported ≥1 noncommunicable disease/developmental condition. Being female, consuming more sugar-sweetened beverages, ultra-processed foods, or alcohol, participating in more screen time, having depression, anxiety or psychological distress were each associated with higher rates of having at least one disease/condition (p<0.01). Sex and SES significantly moderated the associations between some lifestyle behaviours and eight diseases/conditions were examined. Conclusion: Australian adolescents experience considerable rates of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions, highlighting the significance of this public health issue. Implications for public health: Links with lifestyle behaviours and mental health highlight their potential importance in public health to assist with prevention and treatment of these common and emerging noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in adolescents.
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spelling doaj-art-265458bef33a4f53bae3d3598813f0242025-08-20T02:15:51ZengElsevierAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health1326-02002025-04-0149210022510.1016/j.anzjph.2025.100225Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental healthBridie Osman0Matthew Sunderland1Emma K. Devine2Louise Thornton3Felice Jacka4Maree Teesson5The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Abuse, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Correspondence to: The Matilda Centre, Level 6, Jane Foss Russel Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. Tel.: +612 8627 8762The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Abuse, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Abuse, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Abuse, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of medicine and public health. University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, AustraliaThe Food and Mood Centre, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, AustraliaThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Abuse, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaObjective: Amongst Australian youth, there is currently a lack of understanding of the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions and links with modifiable lifestyle behaviours, mental health and other socio-demographics. This paper aims to address this gap. Methods: Australian adolescents (N = 5014, Mage=14.7, SD=0.80) completed a self-report survey assessing noncommunicable diseases/developmental conditions, sex, socio-economic status (SES), lifestyle behaviours and mental health. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate the associations between these variables. The moderating effects of sex and SES were investigated by including interaction terms in each regression model. Results: 45.6% adolescents reported ≥1 noncommunicable disease/developmental condition. Being female, consuming more sugar-sweetened beverages, ultra-processed foods, or alcohol, participating in more screen time, having depression, anxiety or psychological distress were each associated with higher rates of having at least one disease/condition (p<0.01). Sex and SES significantly moderated the associations between some lifestyle behaviours and eight diseases/conditions were examined. Conclusion: Australian adolescents experience considerable rates of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions, highlighting the significance of this public health issue. Implications for public health: Links with lifestyle behaviours and mental health highlight their potential importance in public health to assist with prevention and treatment of these common and emerging noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in adolescents.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020025000068diseasedevelopmentaladolescentdietlifestyle behaviorsmental health
spellingShingle Bridie Osman
Matthew Sunderland
Emma K. Devine
Louise Thornton
Felice Jacka
Maree Teesson
Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental health
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
disease
developmental
adolescent
diet
lifestyle behaviors
mental health
title Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental health
title_full Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental health
title_fullStr Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental health
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental health
title_short Prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 Australian adolescents, and their correlations with diet, other lifestyle behaviours and mental health
title_sort prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and developmental conditions in 5014 australian adolescents and their correlations with diet other lifestyle behaviours and mental health
topic disease
developmental
adolescent
diet
lifestyle behaviors
mental health
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020025000068
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