Self-assessed health associated with lifestyles in young adults: National survey - Young Lives - Perú

• Lizet Milagros HUAYLLANI FLORES ^[1] ; Roy Aris CABRERA OSORIO ^[1] ; Kiara Alessandra RIOS VILLEGAS ^[1] ; Roberto Maximiliano CARRASCO NAVARRO ^[2]
  1. [1] Universidad Continental y SOCIMEC
  2. [2] Universidad Continental
• Localización: Nutrición clínica y dietética hospitalaria, ISSN 0211-6057, Vol. 44, Nº. 2, 2024, págs. 22-30
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Introduction: Self-perception of health serves as an im-portant marker for both morbidity and mortality, and it is subject to various influences, including cultural, psychological,and social factors. In their daily lives, young individuals areconstantly exposed to opportunities for altering their lifestyleseither positively or negatively. Therefore, the primary aim ofthis study is to examine the association between lifestyles andself-assessment of health among Peruvian adults aged 18 to23 years.

    Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conductedutilizing a secondary database, specifically the “Young Lives”Round 5 dataset for Peru. Our sample consisted of 595 youngadults aged between 18 and 23 years. To assess theirlifestyles, we utilized indicators such as physical activity, hoursof sleep, alcohol consumption, and tobacco consumption.These lifestyle factors were then associated with the variableof “self-assessed health”. Additionally, we analyzed other vari-ables, including the sociodemographic characteristics of theevaluated population.

    Results: We found that 24.37% of the sample rated theirhealth as good. Several factors were identified as being asso-ciated with a positive self-assessment of health. These factorsincluded being male (odds ratio [OR] = 2.00, 95% confidenceinterval [CI]: 1.35-2.94), engaging in regular physical activity(OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.02-2.23), sleeping for 7 to 8 hours (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.01-2.81), and occasionally smoking(OR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.002-4.11).

    Conclusions: Engaging in physical activity, getting 7 to8 hours of sleep, and occasional smoking have been foundto be associated with a positive self-assessment of health.