Socio-hygienic and behavioral trends touching upon the quality of life of adolescents

Abstract

Introduction. According to the World Health Organization, among young people, the prevalence of behavioral factors determining the violation of their health is especially increased. It determines the relevance of studying the influence of leading socio-hygienic, behavioral risk factors on the quality of life of modern adolescents. Material and methods. A survey of 15-17-year-old students of schools (n=489) and vocational college (n=292) was conducted. There were determined body mass index (BMI); type of eating behavior - according to the DEBQ questionnaire; quality of life indicators - according to the PedsQLTM4.0 questionnaire. A questionnaire was conducted to identify behavioral risk factors. The data is statistically processed. The significance level of the differences was determined by the Student’s criterion for parametric and the Mann-Whitney U-test for nonparametric features. The differences were considered significant at p<0.05-0.001. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated to establish risk factors. Results. Insufficient level of motor activity was a priority among adolescents. The associations of increased screen time with low physical activity among schoolchildren (OR=1.455) and college students (OR=1.251) were determined. The prevalence of smoking among school and college students was 23.6% and 33.8%, respectively. The components of irrational nutrition were determined; there was a decrease in the frequency of meals as they grew older, eating disorders. 28.5% of schoolchildren had disharmonious physical status. Among college students, body mass disorders were found in 26.2% of cases. The study of quality of life indicators in adolescents showed the highest scores on the scale of social functioning. The indicator of the final assessment of the quality of life was 79 points for schoolchildren, 73 points for college students. The probability of a decrease in the overall quality of life score among schoolchildren most depended on motor activity (OR=1.696) and prolonged use of gadgets (OR =1.550). Insufficient physical activity (OR=1.400) and tobacco smoking (OR=1.615) were statistically significant in the forecast of the probability of a decrease in the overall quality of life score among college students. Limitations. The study is limited to studying the influence of leading socio-hygienic, behavioral risk factors on the quality of life of schoolchildren and college students. Conclusion. Further research is needed to identify causal relationships between socio-hygienic, behavioral risk factors and indicators of the quality of life in adolescents, taking into account the active introduction of modern technological forms of education into the education system in schools and vocational colleges.