Health-risk behaviors among Iranian university students, 2019: a web-based survey

Prevalence and Correlates of Health Risk Behaviors among University Students from a State in the Southern Region of Brazil

BACKGROUND

Surveys conducted in different regions of the world show that the prevalence rates of health risk behaviors (HRBs) in university students are sometimes higher than those found in non-university populations. This study aims to identify the prevalence rates and demographic and academic environment correlates associated with HRBs among Brazilian university students.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional epidemiological study, a random sample of 5310 university students answered an online questionnaire, with demographic (sex, age, skin color, marital status, and paid work) and academic setting information (housing type, size of campus, year, and shift of study), as well as items clustered in four HRB domains: personal safety and violence, sexual behavior and contraception, addictive substance use, eating habits, physical activity, and sleep. The data were analyzed statistically using bivariate analysis and hierarchical multiple regression.

RESULTS

The highest prevalence rates occurred in HRBs clustered in the domain of eating habits, physical activity, and sleep (>60%), while HRBs for personal security and violence were less prevalent (<15%). From 15% to 35% of university students assumed HRBs regarding addictive substance use, and approximately 50% reported risky sexual behavior. The university students most susceptible to HRBs were men, aged ≥ 22 years, living far from their family, studying on larger campuses, attending night classes, and with two or more years of study at the university.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that policies and interventions in the university context aimed at students' readiness to engage in a healthy lifestyle should target specific correlates associated with HRBs.

Estimating the prevalence of high-risk behaviors using network scale-up method in medical university students

BACKGROUND

There is not much information about high-risk behaviors in young groups, especially students. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of high-risk behaviors in students of universities of medical sciences in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, by network scale-up (NSU) method.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was performed on 450 students from the universities of medical sciences. A researcher-developed checklist was used to collect the data. We considered number 16 for the social network size of students according to a previous study. Based on the response of individuals to each of the high-risk behaviors (including cigarette smoking, hookah use, opium consumption, alcohol drinking, tramadol/ecstasy taking, and extramarital sex) in their social network, the prevalence of these behaviors was estimated. The required calculations were performed using the NSU method. Furthermore, 95% uncertainty interval (UI) was calculated using the bootstrap method.

RESULTS

Totally, 196 (44%) participants were male. The mean age (standard deviation) of the participants was 22 ± 2 years. Results showed that hookah use (20% 95% UI [18.9-21.1]) and opium consumption (0.4% 95% UI [0.24-0.6]) had the highest and lowest frequencies, respectively. Cigarette smoking (17% 95% UI [15.8-18]), alcohol use (8.3% 95% UI [7.5-9.1]), extramarital sex (8.2% 95% UI [7.4-9]), and tramadol/ecstasy taking (4% 95% UI [6.4-4.6]) were the next most common high-risk behaviors, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Given that hookah use and cigarette smoking are the most common high-risk behaviors in students, especially males, appropriate cultural activities and educational programs should be employed by relevant authorities to reduce these behaviors.

Risk-Taking Behaviors Considering Internet Gaming Disorder among Iranian University Students: A Latent Class Analysis

BACKGROUND

Dangerous behaviors adversely affect the health of adolescents and young adults. This study aimed to identify the subgroups of college students based on the parameters of risky behavior and analyze the impact of demographic factors and internet gaming disorder (IGD) belonging to each class.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

METHODS

The study was conducted on 1355 students through a multi-stage random sampling method in 2020. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data, and all students completed 1294 sets of questionnaires. The data were analyzed using t test and latent class analysis (LCA) through SPSS and PROC LCA in SAS 9.2 software.

RESULTS

Three latent classes have been identified as low-risk (75%), tobacco smoker (8%), and high-risk (17%). There was a high possibility of risky behavior in the third class. Marital status (being single) (OR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.19-4.37), unemployment (having no job) along with education (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.04-2.33), and IGD (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04-1.09) increased the risk of inclusion in the tobacco smoker class. Moreover, unemployment (having no job) along with education (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.11-1.84) increased the chance of being in the high-risk class.

CONCLUSION

According to the findings of this study, 25% of the students were tobacco smokers or were in the high-risk class. The results of this study may help develop and evaluate preventive strategies that simultaneously take into account different behaviors.