Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jun 20;4(6):e005156.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005156.

Association of lifestyle factors and suboptimal health status: a cross-sectional study of Chinese students

Jianlu Bi  1 , Ying Huang  1 , Ya Xiao  1 , Jingru Cheng  1 , Fei Li  1 , Tian Wang  1 , Jieyu Chen  1 , Liuguo Wu  1 , Yanyan Liu  2 , Ren Luo  1 , Xiaoshan Zhao  1
Affiliations

Association of lifestyle factors and suboptimal health status: a cross-sectional study of Chinese students

Jianlu Bi et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: Suboptimal health status (SHS) is considered to be an intermediate status between disease and health, and is characterised by a decline in vitality, in physiological function and in the capacity for adaptation. Although the incidence of SHS is high, the underlying causes remain unclear. Lifestyle is one of the most important factors affecting health status; however, the relationship between SHS and lifestyle has not been elucidated.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: A questionnaire, based on 'Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II)' and 'Sub-Health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0)', was sent to four colleges in four districts (Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhanjiang and Shaoguan) of China between May and July 2013.

Participants: A total of 12 429 questionnaires were distributed during the study period, and 11 144 completed responses were received.

Results: The prevalence rates for the 'healthy', 'SHS' and 'disease' groups of respondents (students) were 22.81% (2542), 55.9% (6234) and 21.25% (2368), respectively. Most of the students reported a 'moderate' or 'good' lifestyle. There were significant differences in lifestyle and health status between the two genders. It was notable that health status was significantly positively correlated with lifestyle (r=0.563). For every dimension of the HPLP-II model, the mean values were lower for those participants who reported as 'SHS' or 'disease' than for those who reported that they were 'healthy'. The individual dimensions of the HPLP-II model, including 'spiritual growth', 'health responsibility', 'physical activity', 'interpersonal relations' and 'stress management' were all related to SHS.

Conclusions: Health status is significantly positively correlated with lifestyle. Poor lifestyle is a risk factor for SHS. Conversely, adopting a healthier lifestyle can improve SHS.

Trial registration number: ChiCTR-OCH-12002317.

Keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY; PUBLIC HEALTH; SOCIAL MEDICINE.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatter plot of Sub-Health Measurement Scale (SHMS) V1.0 scores and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP)-II scores.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sub -Health Measurement Scale V1.0
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wang W, Yan Y. Suboptimal health: a new health dimension for translational medicine. Clin Transl Med 2012;1:28. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Medicine CAOC. The TCM clinical guidelines of suboptimal health status. Beijing: China Press TCM, 2006
    1. Wang W, Russell A, Yan Y. Traditional Chinese medicine and new concepts of predictive, preventive and personalized medicine in diagnosis and treatment of suboptimal health. EPMA J 2014;5:4. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ke B, Liang Y. Anti-aging and complete suboptimal health checkup. Clin Funct Nutr 2011;3:137–40
    1. Dunstan RH, Sparkes DL, Roberts TK, et al. Development of a complex amino acid supplement, Fatigue Reviva, for oral ingestion: initial evaluations of product concept and impact on symptoms of suboptimal health in a group of males. Nutr J 2013;12:115. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources