Abstract
BackgroundSuboptimal health status (SHS) is the third state between good health and disease. SHS is the clinical or pre-disease status of psychosomatic disease and a major global public health challenge. Although its underlying causes remain unclear, lifestyle is one of the most important factors affecting health status.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted at Renmin University of China in September of 2015. Data were collected from college freshmen using a questionnaire covering characteristics, lifestyle, nutrition status, and health status. A total of 6025 questionnaires were distributed during the study period, and 5344 completed responses were received.ResultsThe prevalence rates for the “healthy,” “SHS,” and “disease” groups of college freshmen were 46.7% (2433), 51.2% (2667), and 2.1% (111), respectively. It is notable that health status was significantly positively correlated with lifestyle (Spearman’s r = 0.4435, p < 0.001). The multivariate Logistic regression results showed that students who were relatively younger and students from rural areas had a higher percentage of SHS. Good sleep quality (aOR = 0.650, 95%CI = 0.612–0.690), abundant physical exercise (aOR = 0.889, 95%CI = 0.845–0.933), and adequate nutrition intake (aOR = 0.868, 95%CI = 0.864–0.908) are negatively associated with SHS. Overuse of electronic devices (aOR = 1.066, 95%CI = 1.013–1.121), smoking (aOR = 1.824, 95%CI = 1.195–2.755), and weight loss (aOR = 1.255, 95%CI = 1.043–1.509) are positively associated with SHS.ConclusionsPoor lifestyle behaviors are associated with SHS. In particular, the overuse of electronic devices is one of underlying causes of SHS. By altering lifestyle behaviors for the better, the health statuses of these college freshmen can be effectively improved.
Highlights
Suboptimal health status (SHS) is the third state between good health and disease
In the traditional Chinese medicine guidelines released by the China Association of Chinese Medicine (CACM), medically undiagnosed or functional somatic syndromes [4,5,6] are characterized by a decline in vitality, in physiological
The results showed that the scores for “sleep quality index,” “physical activity,” and “nutrition status” among healthy students (8.58 ± 1.77, 4.79 ± 2.10, 18.34 ± 3.02, respectively) were significantly higher than the scores among students classified with suboptimal health status (7.76 ± 1.86, 3.94 ± 2.16, 16.89 ± 3.28, respectively)
Summary
Suboptimal health status (SHS) is the third state between good health and disease. SHS is the clinical or pre-disease status of psychosomatic disease and a major global public health challenge. With changes in living environments, especially urbanization, more and more people reported suboptimal health without a diagnosable condition, which is called suboptimal health status (SHS) [3]. SHS is an intermediate state between health and disease, which is often medically undiagnosed. SHS people frequently suffer symptoms, such as headaches, dizziness, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, functional system disorders (e.g., disorders of the digestive system, cardiovascular system, urinary system, etc.) and non-specific pain (e.g., back pain and chest pain). SHS sufferers often experienced impaired quality of life, frequent hospital visits, and expensive medical expenses [6, 7]
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