Self-Perceived Health among School Going Adolescents in Pakistan: Influence of Individual, Parental and Life Style Factors?

Abstract

Background:Adolescents are at substantial risk of acquiring behaviors which might influence their health status. This study was aimed to assess the proportion of school going adolescents (both males and females) with poor self-perceived health and its associated factors.Methodology:A cross-sectional study was conducted in three major cities of Pakistan i.e. Karachi, Lahore and Quetta. From each city, six (6) secondary schools were randomly selected (3 public and 3 private). Pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to students. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine independent factors associated with poor self-perceived health.Results:Approximately 29% adolescents (119/414) reported poor self-perceived health. Individual and parental factors significantly associated with poor self-perceived health were being male (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.09 – 2.79), living in extended family (AOR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.66 – 4.22), unskilled employment of father (AOR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.35 – 3.48), lack of parental-child communication (AOR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.03 – 2.91) and unfair treatment by parents (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.09 – 2.96). Life style factors such as use of smokeless tobacco (AOR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.26 – 3.96) and unhealthy diet (AOR = 3.60, 95% CI: 1.76 – 7.33) were associated with poor self-perceived health.Conclusion:Better employment opportunities for father, parental counseling and increase awareness for adolescents about healthy diet are recommended to improve adolescent self-perceived health in Pakistan.

Mudanças no estilo de vida e na percepção da saúde em estudantes do ensino médio: análise prospectiva do projeto “Saúde na Boa”

“…There was not a significant prospective association between the weekly frequency of physical activity for at least 60 minutes daily or the weekly frequency of muscular strength/endurance exercises and self-rated health. These results differ from studies with cross-sectional designs [9][10][11]13,14,16 . However, we performed our assessment of physical activity subjectively.…”

“…Decreasing the monthly frequency of alcohol consumption was highly statistically associated with positive changes in self-rated health (see Table 3). Cross-sectional data have showed a similar trend 10 . A review of reviews on the effects of alcohol consumption on youth health 30 indicated that alcohol consumption might be associated with feelings of depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts among youth.…”

“…Changing specific eating habits (i.e., the weekly frequency of consumption of sweets and fruits/fruit juice) was significantly associated with changes in self-rated health. Cross-sectional data also highlighted the importance of a healthier diet on health perceptions among the young 10,16 , but prospective data are unexplored. One study evaluated whether diet quality was prospectively associated (at one year follow-up) with mental health (assessed with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory) among Australian students 20 .…”

“…Lifestyle factors, such as physical activity [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] , watching TV 11 , eating habits 10,16 , substance abuse (e.g., alcohol and tobacco) 10,13,17 and sleep time 11 , have been associated with self-rated health among young people. However, most of this evidence has been obtained in cross-sectional studies, and they are limited in their ability to explore causal relationships between two variables.…”

Effect of social and behavior change communication by using infotainment in community perception of adolescent girls for reproductive and sexual health care in high priority districts of Assam

“…3 Behavior acquired during adolescence leads to 33% disease and 60% premature deaths among adults. 4 Younger adolescents (10-14 years) suffer more from injuries and communicable diseases while older adolescents (15-19 years) have outcomes of sexual behaviors and mental health. 5 Accordingly, a comprehensive adolescent health strategy has been developed under RMNCH+A.…”