Health risk factors and health self assessment of population in western Lithuania

Abstract

Summary The aim of the study was to analyze the health risk factors and to assess the respondents’ health in Western Lithuania. The survey on the health risk factors and the respondents’ attitude to their own health was conducted. The scientists of the Health Sciences Faculty of Klaipeda University, using questionnaire from Lund University in Sweden, developed a questionnaire for this study. The questionnaire consists of a sociodemografic section and the two main sections on health risk factors and respondents opinion about their own health. In the survey 385 residents of Western Lithuania, aged 18 to 89 years participated: 142 (36. 9 %) males and 243 (63. 1 %) females. The survey revealed the overweight in residents of Western Lithuania, as in the whole country. The body mass index in male was higher than that of female. The body mass index was significantly lower in the younger age group, compared with other age groups (middle age, the elderly, and the old residents). The arterial blood pressure was significantly higher in elderly and in old residents, than that of younger and middle age residents. The arterial blood pressure and overweight increased with increasing age. The residents of Western Lithuania assessed their overall health status as average, (61%). When compare the health status with the same age friends’ health, 75.6 % of respondents evaluated their health as good, but 30.1 % of residents stated, that they could not accomplish their everyday activities, because of their health problems. The study showed as 55.8% of the residents of Western Lithuania evaluate their physical and mental health as average, but about 80 % of residents stated as they felt pain. The men rated their own health better than women did. The younger residents rated significantly better their overall health status and their abilities to perform their everyday actions, than that of other age groups; also, young people rarely felt pain.