Determinants of Self-Rated Health Perception in a Sample of a Physically Active Population: PLENUFAR VI Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate determinants of self-rated health (SRH) perception in Spanish adults. This cross-sectional study including data from 11,342 participants from the Spanish PLENUFAR VI study. SRH status was grouped in two categories ('good'/'poor') and the associations of socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyles, diet adequacy and chronic disease with SRH were assessed. After adjusting for relevant confounders, the risk ratios (RR) and (95% confidence intervals) for poor SRH were 1.05 (1.03⁻1.07) for each hour of increment of sitting, 1.56 (1.30⁻1.88) for short (≥5 h vs. 7⁻8 h) sleep duration, 0.63 (0.55⁻0.72) for vigorous (vs. light) physical activity, 0.61 (0.50⁻0.74) for adequate (vs. non-adequate) diet. Activities like jogging [RR for each unit of increment in the METs-h/day = 0.87 (0.82⁻0.92)], gymnastics [0.87 (0.81⁻0.93)], biking [0.91 (0.85⁻0.98)], and track and field [0.94 (0.89⁻0.98)], were associated with better health perception. Normally weight participants with any chronic disease had lower probability to report poor SRH than overweight/obese participants with any chronic disease. Frequent consumption of bread (>2 servings/day) was associated with a lower adjusted mean of health perception scale, while higher consumption of vegetables and fruit or fish were associated with higher values, concerning good SRH. We can conclude that normal-weight participants even suffering a chronic disease had lower probability to report poor health perception than participants with overweight/obesity and a chronic disease especially for hypertension and diabetes. Activities like jogging, gymnastics, biking, and track and field, and a higher consumption of fruits, vegetables and fish, were associated with better health rated perception.

Keywords: diet adequacy; lifestyles; nutritional status; physical activity; self-rated health.

Figure 1

Association between total METs-h/day and the probability of reporting poor SRH. Continuous black line represents the RR and the pointed-lines represent the 95% confidence interval. Adjusted for sex, age, educational level, Body mass index, smoking status, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, other diseases, gluten, lactose or other intolerances, supplements, chronic treatment, sleeping hours, time spent sitting, healthy diet adequacy score.

Figure 2

RR and 95% CI for poor health perception according to the nutritional status. NW, Normal weight; UW, Underweight; OW, Overweight; OB, Obese. Adjusted for sex, age, educational level, smoking status, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, other diseases, gluten, lactose or other intolerances, supplements, chronic treatment, sleeping hours, time spent sitting, physical activity, and healthy diet adequacy score.

Figure 3

RR and 95% CI for poor health perception comparing healthy and normal weight participants to overweight/obese participants, and to normal weight and overweight/obese participants plus diabetes, hypertension hypercholesterolemia, and other chronic diseases and BMI. NW, Normal weight; OW/OB, Overweight/Obese; HT, Hypertension; HCL, Hypercholesterolemia, OD, Other diseases. Adjusted for sex, age, educational level, smoking status, diabetes (except in the diabetes analysis), hypertension (except in the hypertension analysis), dyslipidemia (except in the hypercholesterolemia analysis), other diseases (except in the hypertension analysis), gluten, lactose or other intolerances, supplements, chronic treatment, sleeping hours, time spent sitting, physical activity, and healthy diet adequacy score.