Estilo de vida pouco saudável de universitários da área da saúde: Quais são os fatores associados?

Abstract

Lifestyle reflects the behaviors and conditions that influence health, including diet, physical activity, and emotional aspects. In addition, issues related to work, overweight, academic workload, and changes in routine can lead to inadequate habits and make it difficult for health science students to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with the unhealthy lifestyle of health science students at the State University of Amazonas (UEA). Method: This is a study with a quantitative approach, using a descriptive and exploratory design. Casual sampling was conducted, including 198 students from the Physical Education, Nursing, Medicine, and Dentistry programs, of both sexes, at the State University of Amazonas (UEA). Sociodemographic data (social class, sex, age, and employment), self-reported height and body mass, physical activity level, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, health perception, and lifestyle were collected. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis (mean and standard deviation) and inferential analysis (binary logistic regression) in SPSS 20.0, adopting p < 0.05. Results: The average age of the participants was 21.6 ± 4.57 years, most of whom were women (56.6%) and belonged to the middle class (46%). Regarding health habits and weight status, 54.5% were classified as sufficiently active, and 61.6% had normal weight. However, concerning psychological aspects, high prevalences of depression symptoms (54%), anxiety (64.1%), and stress (62.1%) were observed among the university students studied. Although 75.8% of the participants were classified as having a healthy lifestyle, 24.2% of them had a lifestyle that needed improvement. The factors associated with a lifestyle that needed improvement among university students were: overweight (OR: 2.398; 95% CI: 1.116 – 5.154), being insufficiently active (OR: 2.575; 95% CI: 1.155 – 5.742), being employed (OR: 2.521; 95% CI: 1.027 – 6.193), presence of depressive symptoms (OR: 4.630; 95% CI: 1.902 – 11.269), and negative self-perception of health (RC: 4,499. 95% CI: 1,683–12,023), so that the highest odds of having an unhealthy lifestyle were observed in the presence of depressive symptoms and negative self-perception of health. Conclusion: It is concluded that, even among future healthcare professionals, there are behaviors and factors that can compromise a healthy lifestyle. The importance of institutional actions aimed at promoting the physical and mental health of university students is emphasized.