Prevalence of negative self-rated health in university students and its relationship with the co-occurrence of risk behaviors

Abstract

The present study estimate the prevalence of negative self-rated health and to analyze its association with simultaneous risk behaviors (insufficient levels of physical activity, greater exposure to sedentary time and inappropriate sleep time) in students at a public university in the state from Minas Gerais, Brazil. It consists of cross-sectional study, with data collected through a questionnaire. The outcome variable was negative self-rated health. The independent variables were estimated by the questions related to the time spent on physical activity, sitting and sleep time, and these three behaviors were considered according to the risk criteria (none, one, two and three risk behaviors). The association was estimated by the Prevalence Ratios (PR), via Poisson regression. 1,110 students participated in the study. The prevalence of negative self-rated health among university students was 47.3%, and the prevalence of two risk behaviors and three risk behaviors were 41.3% and 11.3%, respectively. The simultaneous occurrence of three risk behaviors was associated with negative self-rated health in university students. The information in this study makes it possible to characterize the need for actions to promote health in the university environment.