Startseite Prevalence of health risk behaviors and their associated factors among university students in Kyrgyzstan
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Prevalence of health risk behaviors and their associated factors among university students in Kyrgyzstan

  • Supa Pengpid , Karl Peltzer EMAIL logo und Erkin M. Mirrakhimov
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 27. Juni 2013
International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
Aus der Zeitschrift International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Band 26 Heft 2

Abstract

Background: With the advancements in knowledge about health promotion, public health professionals have been seeking determinants of personal health behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of health risk behaviors and its associated factors in a sample of Kyrgyz university students.

Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, health risk behaviors among a sample of randomly selected university students were assessed. The sample included 837 university students from health sciences undergraduate courses of the State Medical Academy in Kyrgyzstan. The students were 358 (42.8%) males and 479 (57.2%) females in the age range of 18–29 years (Median age=21.3 years, SD=1.5).

Results: On average, students engaged in 9.4 (SD=2.3) out of 23 health risk behavior practices (range, 3–18). Generally, there was a high rate of insufficient fruit and vegetable intake (86.4%), eating red meat at least once a day (62%), usually adding salt to meals (78.3%), skipping breakfast (50.5%), current tobacco use (49.7%) and two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months (46.1%) among men, and never using a condom with a primary partner in the past 3 months (90.9%) among women. Furthermore, 60.8% of the women were physically inactive. In bivariate analysis among men, the lack of perceived benefits was associated with health risk behavior. In multivariate analysis among women, poorer family background, being Russian, high personal constraints or stress, and better subjective health were associated with the health risk behavior index.

Conclusions: Students had a high proportion of health risk behavior practices. Several high health risk practices were identified, including poor dietary behavior, physical inactivity, sexual risk behavior, and tobacco use. Gender specific predictors identified included sociodemographic characteristics and social and health variables, which can be utilized in health promotion programs.

Keywords: health behavior; health benefits; health risk knowledge; Kyrgyzstan; university students
Corresponding author: Professor Karl Peltzer, HIV/STI and TB (HAST) Research Programme, Human Sciences Research Council, Private Bag X41, Pretoria 0001, South Africa, E-mail:

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Received: 2013-4-19
Accepted: 2013-5-24
Published Online: 2013-6-27
Published in Print: 2014-5-1

©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. To precribe or not to prescribe antibiotics
  4. Review
  5. A systematic review of transition readiness and transfer satisfaction measures for adolescents with chronic illness
  6. Original articles
  7. Prevalence of health risk behaviors and their associated factors among university students in Kyrgyzstan
  8. Heavy Internet use and its associations with health risk and health-promoting behaviours among Thai university students
  9. Dyslipidemia and hyperinsulinemia in children and adolescents with chronic liver disease: relation to disease severity
  10. A cross-national study to compare the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of sexually transmitted diseases and the sexual risk behaviors of Latino adolescents
  11. University students and the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Uganda: The Crane Survey
  12. Concurrent and simultaneous polydrug use among young Swiss males: use patterns and associations of number of substances used with health issues
  13. Sexual behavior of in-school adolescents in Osun State, Southwest Nigeria: a comparative study
  14. Health profile of urban adolescent girls from India
  15. Age of first reported sexual experience among U.S. soldiers
  16. Prehypertension and associated factors among university students in the Philippines
  17. School-based intervention to promote healthy nutrition in Sousse, Tunisia
  18. Awareness, acceptability, and use of female condoms among university students in Nigeria: implications for STI/HIV prevention
  19. Clustering of risk factors in the smoking habits of schoolchildren in Sousse, Tunisia
  20. Self-esteem in adolescents with chronic physical illness vs. controls in Northern Russia
  21. Gender differences in the mental health literacy of young people
  22. Case reports
  23. An adolescent with chronic giardiasis mimicking anorexia nervosa
  24. Treatment of refractory substance-induced psychosis in adolescent males with a genetic predisposition to mental illness
  25. Book Review
  26. A clinical handbook in adolescent medicine. A guide for health professionals who work with adolescents and young adults
https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2013-0516
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
health behavior; health benefits; health risk knowledge; Kyrgyzstan; university students

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. To precribe or not to prescribe antibiotics
  4. Review
  5. A systematic review of transition readiness and transfer satisfaction measures for adolescents with chronic illness
  6. Original articles
  7. Prevalence of health risk behaviors and their associated factors among university students in Kyrgyzstan
  8. Heavy Internet use and its associations with health risk and health-promoting behaviours among Thai university students
  9. Dyslipidemia and hyperinsulinemia in children and adolescents with chronic liver disease: relation to disease severity
  10. A cross-national study to compare the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of sexually transmitted diseases and the sexual risk behaviors of Latino adolescents
  11. University students and the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Uganda: The Crane Survey
  12. Concurrent and simultaneous polydrug use among young Swiss males: use patterns and associations of number of substances used with health issues
  13. Sexual behavior of in-school adolescents in Osun State, Southwest Nigeria: a comparative study
  14. Health profile of urban adolescent girls from India
  15. Age of first reported sexual experience among U.S. soldiers
  16. Prehypertension and associated factors among university students in the Philippines
  17. School-based intervention to promote healthy nutrition in Sousse, Tunisia
  18. Awareness, acceptability, and use of female condoms among university students in Nigeria: implications for STI/HIV prevention
  19. Clustering of risk factors in the smoking habits of schoolchildren in Sousse, Tunisia
  20. Self-esteem in adolescents with chronic physical illness vs. controls in Northern Russia
  21. Gender differences in the mental health literacy of young people
  22. Case reports
  23. An adolescent with chronic giardiasis mimicking anorexia nervosa
  24. Treatment of refractory substance-induced psychosis in adolescent males with a genetic predisposition to mental illness
  25. Book Review
  26. A clinical handbook in adolescent medicine. A guide for health professionals who work with adolescents and young adults
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