P47 Self-Rated Health and Lifestyle/Food Habits of Guardians of 7 to 16-Year-Old School Students

Abstract

Background Self-rated health (SRH) status instruments are subjective by nature. They can help predict mortality risk. Therefore, this tool has been extensively employed in gerontology and public health. Among adolescents, SRH is influenced by shortage of food, family support and life satisfaction, suggesting that SRH is associated with lifestyle and food habits from young adolescents to the elderly. Objective The role of lifestyle, food habits and concerns about food in the SRH of guardians of 7 to 16-year-old school students in Japan was examined. Study Design, Settings, Participants In this cross-sectional study, we randomly selected 1,658 students and their guardians from eight schools in Hyogo, Japan, in 2017. Questionnaires were distributed to the students who were asked to give it to their parents. The completed questionnaires were returned via postage-free envelopes. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Only 496 (29.9%) participants returned both completed questionnaires. SRH was measured as a single item, i.e. ‘How would you rate your health?’, and responses were on a five-point likert-type scale as follows: 1 excellent; 2 very good; 3 good; 4 poor; 5 fair. The outcome variable was dichotomised as ‘high’ for scores 1 and 2 or ‘low’ for 3, 4 and 5. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for SRH. Results Of the respondents, 95.5% were mothers and 18.4% scored their SRH as fair or poor. Compared to the ‘low’ SRH group, ‘high’ SRH group guardians had lower body mass index (BMI) (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82–0.97), higher frequencies of eating breakfast (2.00; 1.30–3.09), talking with the family during meals (1.67; 1.25–2.28) and getting 7–8 hours of sleep (2.38; 1.45–3.92). There was no significant relationship between the SRH of the guardians and their children by χ2 test. Conclusion The SRH of guardians of students, aged 7–16 years in Japan, is influenced by frequency of eating breakfast, talking with family during meals, adequate sleep duration and lower BMI. Funding None.