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- Andersson, Per, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of family history and personal experience of illness on inclination to change health related behavior
- 2009
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - Prague : National Institute of Public Health in cooperation with Tigris Ltd. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 17:1, s. 3-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to examine how personal experience of illness and family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), adjusted for gender, education and nationality, affects risk behaviour. Subjects were 2054 men and women of age 50 from two countries, Sweden (n=1011) and Poland (n=1043), who were recruited from screening program in primary health care. Family history, personal experience and risk behaviours (smoking habits, exercise habits, BMI-level) were self-reported. The results show that smoking behaviour is affected by personal experience of illness but not by family history of CVD. No effects of these variables were found on the remaining risk related variables that were tested in this study. These results suggest that individuals with a personal experience of illness may be inclined to change smoking behaviour more than the average person. Smoking prevention strategies may thus benefit from targeting this group in particular.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Lags in behavioral change : A population based comparison of cardiovascular risk behavior in Poland and Sweden.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - : National Institute of Public Health. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 14:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One thousand and twenty Polish men and women and 1,011 Swedish men and women aged 50 and recruited through primary health care took part in a survey relating to their knowledge of health-related behaviour, attitudes to health-related behaviour and self-reported risk behaviour. The results reveal that Poles know as much about cardiovascular risk factors as Swedes, but that Swedes feel that it is more important to change their dietary habits and to influence factors in the working environment to avoid the risk of developing CVD than did Poles. Swedes also displayed less risk behaviour than Poles and more Swedes than Poles had successfully stopped smoking. These findings suggest that differences in stages of health-related behavior that have previously been observed at an individual level may sometimes also be discerned at a national level.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Per, et al.
(författare)
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The effects of family history and personal experiences of illness on the inclination to change health-related behaviour
- 2009
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - : National Institute of Public Health. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 17:1, s. 3-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to examine how a personal experience of illness and a family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), adjusted for sex, level of education and nationality, affect risk behaviour. Participants were 1,011 and 1,043, 50-year-old men and women from Sweden and Poland, respectively, who were recruited from a primary health care screening programme. Family history, personal experience of illness and risk behaviour (smoking and exercise habits, BMI level) were self-reported. The results showed that smoking behaviour was affected by a personal experience of illness but not by a family history of CVD. No effects of these variables were found on the remaining risk-related variables tested in this study. These results suggest that individuals with a personal experience of illness may be more inclined to change smoking behaviour than the average person. Smoking prevention strategies may therefore benefit from targeting this group in particular.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Borisova, Liubov, 1984-
(författare)
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Objective and Subjective Determinants of Self-Rated Health in Central and Eastern Europe : A Multilevel Approach
- 2019
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - : NATL INST PUBLIC HEALTH. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 27:2, s. 145-152
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Determinants of health in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have been discussed primarily in relation to the transition of the 1990's and early 2000's, citing lifestyles as the main culprit. This paper tries to draw a bigger picture of the health determinants in CEE in the first decade of the 21st century. To do so, the two main analytical approaches to health are united in one setting. One of them is based on the definition of health as a personal commodity relying mostly on micro-level subjective data. The other views health as a public commodity analysing objective societal characteristics and health care interventions with often a macro-level perspective. The current study incorporates these different approaches (subjective and objective) in a multi-level setting in CEE. Methods: The analysis concentrates on health care, social, political, and economic factors as determinants of self-rated health. Multilevel analysis is carried out on a dataset of Life in Transition Survey (LiTS), conducted in 2006 and 2010, pooled cross-sectional data on 46,546 individuals in 27 CEE states. They are accompanied by macro-level data. Results: The findings demonstrate that a complex mix of determinants influences subjective health in CEE. There are clear differences in the way objective and subjective indicators influence self-rated health. While societal economic prosperity does not influence health, there are strong country-specific differences in the effect of individual prosperity on health. Conclusions: The study adds to the recent literature on health in CEE by introducing an encompassing systematic approach to analysing health, as no leading cause for self-rated health variation was found. This paper also contributes to research on the determinants of health by fusing objective and subjective determinants in a hierarchical setting. Both subjective and objective determinants matter for health.
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| 7. |
- El Ansari, Walid, et al.
(författare)
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Are behavioural risk factors clusters associated with self-reported health complaints? : University students in Finland
- 2023
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - Prague : National Institute of Public Health. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 31:4, s. 248-255
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: No previous research of university students in Finland assessed lifestyle behavioural risk factors (BRFs) and categorized students into clusters, explored the associations of the clusters with self-reported health complaints (HCs), whilst controlling for potential confounders. The current study undertook this task. METHODS: Students at the University of Turku (1,177) completed an online well-being questionnaire that assessed socio-demographic variables, 5 BRFs - problematic alcohol consumption, smoking, illicit drug use, food consumption habits, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 22 HCs. A food frequency questionnaire assessed students' consumption of a range of foods, and a dietary guideline adherence score was computed based on WHO dietary recommendations for Europe. Three separate regression models appraised the associations between the cluster membership and HCs factors, adjusting for sex, income sufficiency and self-rated health. RESULTS: Mean age was 23 ± 5.2 years, 77% had never smoked and 79% never used illicit drug/s. Factor analysis of HCs resulted in four-factors (psychological, circulatory/breathing, gastro-intestinal, pains/aches); cluster analysis of BRFs identified two distinctive student clusters. Cluster 1 represented more healthy students who never smoked/used illicit drugs, had no problematic drinking, and undertook MVPA on 4.42 ± 3.36 days/week. As for cluster 2 students, half the cluster smoked occasionally/daily, used illicit drug/s, and > 50% had problematic drinking and students undertook MVPA on 4.02 ± 3.12 days/week. More cluster 2 students adhered to healthy eating recommendations, but the difference was not significant between clusters. Regression analysis revealed that females, those with sufficient income, and with excellent/very good self-rated general health were significantly less likely to report all four HCs. Cluster 2 students were significantly more likely to report psychological complaints, circulatory/breathing and gastro-intestinal complaints. There was no significant association between BRFs clusters and pains/aches factor. CONCLUSIONS: Risk taking students with less healthy lifestyles and behaviour were consistently associated with poorer psychological and somatic health.
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| 8. |
- El Ansari, Walid, et al.
(författare)
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Correlates of achieving the guidelines of four forms of physical activity, and the relationship between guidelines achievement and academic performance : Undergraduate students in Finland
- 2017
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - : Statni Zdravotni Ustav,National Institute of Public Health. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 25:2, s. 87-95
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: We surveyed and compared, by gender, the levels and correlates of achieving the international guidelines of four forms of physical activity (PA): moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA), moderate or vigorous PA (MVPA), and muscle strengthening PA (MSPA). The study assessed the associations between achieving the guidelines of the four PA forms and a range of socio-demographic, health and academic performance variables. Methods: Data was collected across the seven faculties of the University of Turku (2013-2014 from a representative sample of 1,189 undergraduates). An English language online self-administered questionnaire assessed frequency and duration of PA/week for each form of PA. We employed cut-offs for the guidelines in accordance with the American Heart Association. Chi-square statistic tested the differences in PA, socio-demographic variables and academic performance between males and females. Binary logistic regression examined the factors associated with achieving the four PA guidelines and linear regression examined the association between the frequency of PA and academic performance. Results: Achievement of PA guidelines was relatively low across the sample. Female students were less likely to achieve the VPA or MSPA guidelines, but were more health conscious and in generally exhibited better academic performace than males. High health awareness and excellent/very good self-rated health were the strongest predictors of achieving all forms of PA. Parents' education level was positively related to likelihood of achieving the VPA, MVPA and MSPA guidelines. Achieving the MPA guidelines (but not VPA or MSPA) was positively associated with subjective perceptions of better academic performance. Conclusions: Achievement of PA guidelines was generally low for this sample of Finnish students, and was associated with positive health status and high health awareness. Universities need a holistic approach to improve awareness of health and promote PA in students' lifestyles.
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| 9. |
- El Ansari, Walid, et al.
(författare)
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Physical activity and mental health. Is achieving the physical activity guidelines associated with less depressive symptoms among undergraduates at the University of Turku, Finland?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - : National Institute of Public Health, Prague, in cooperation with TIGIS, Ltd.. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 29:3, s. 201-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Virtually no previous research assessed physical activity (PA) of university students in Finland, and their associations with depressive symptoms, whilst simultaneously controlling for potential confounders. METHODS: Students at the University of Turku (1,177) completed an online health and wellbeing questionnaire that assessed depressive symptoms (22 items), as well as their achievement of the guidelines of four forms of low, moderate, vigorous, and muscle strengthening PA (LPA, MPA, VPA, MSPA, respectively). We explored the associations of depressive symptoms with these PA forms, accounting for socio-demographic and health confounders (age, gender, year of study, marital status, accommodation during semesters, self-rated health). RESULTS: Achievement of PA guidelines was generally low for these young adult Finnish undergraduates. Bivariate relationships (no controlling for confounders) between depressive symptoms and four forms of PA guidelines achievement showed that in males, good/very good/excellent self-rated health, and achievement of the MSPA guidelines were significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Conversely, low PA was significantly positively associated with depressive symptoms. Multiple regression (controlling for confounders) showed that achievement of the MSPA guidelines was independently significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms; and whilst achievement of the MPA and VPA guidelines was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, the relationships did not reach statistical significance. Likewise, low PA was positively associated with depressive symptoms, but the relationships were again not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Universities would benefit from multipronged strategies and approaches employing effective interventions aimed at improving students' general awareness of their health and promoting more physically active lifestyles among students.
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| 10. |
- El Ansari, Walid, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence and predictors of smoking, quit attempts and total smoking ban at the University of Turku, Finland
- 2021
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Public Health. - : National Institute of Public Health, Prague, in cooperation with TIGIS, Ltd.. - 1210-7778 .- 1803-1048. ; 29:1, s. 45-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The current study employed socio-demographic, health and lifestyle, and academic variables to assess the prevalence and independent predictors of daily smoking, attempts to quit smoking, and agreement with total smoking ban at university. METHODS: Students at the University of Turku (1,177) completed an online questionnaire that assessed socio-demographic, health and lifestyle, and academic characteristics, and three smoking variables (smoking, attempts to quit, agreement with total smoking ban at university). Bivariate relationships and multiple logistic regression assessed relationships between student characteristics and the three smoking variables before and after controlling for all other variables. RESULTS: Slightly < 80% of students never smoked, 16% were occasional, and about 6% were daily smokers, and about 40% had attempted to quit. Nearly half the sample agreed to total smoking ban at university. Physical activity, consuming alcohol, illicit drug/s use and daily smoking were significant independent predictors across > 1 of the three smoking variables. Age, health awareness, importance of achieving good grades, academic performance compared to peers, study burden, and mother's educational level were significant independent predictors of one of the three variables examined. CONCLUSION: Universities need to assess smoking, with specific focus on the modifiable independent predictors that were associated with > 1 the variables examined, to encourage physical activity and pay attention to reduce alcohol consumption and illicit drug/s and daily smoking, whilst targeting at-risk students. University strategies should be part of the wider country-wide effective tobacco control policies.
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