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. 2023 Sep 28;18(9):e0288624.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288624. eCollection 2023.

Lifestyle and Sense of Coherence: A comparative analysis among university students in different areas of knowledge

João Paulo Costa Braga  1 , Eduardo Wolfgram  1 , João Paulo Batista de Souza  1 , Larissa Gabriele Fausto Silva  1 , Yonel Estavien  1 , Roberto de Almeida  1 , Cezar Rangel Pestana  1
Affiliations

Lifestyle and Sense of Coherence: A comparative analysis among university students in different areas of knowledge

João Paulo Costa Braga et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The concept of health has undergone profound changes. Lifestyle Medicine consists of therapeutic approaches that focus on the prevention and treatment of diseases. It follows that the quality of life of university students directly affects their health and educational progress.

Experimental methodology: Socioeconomic, lifestyle (LS), and Salutogenesis Theory/sense of coherence (SOC) questionnaires were administered to college students from three different areas. The results were analyzed for normality and homogeneity, followed by ANOVA variance analysis and Dunn and Tukey post hoc test for multiple comparisons. Spearman's correlation coefficient evaluated the correlation between lifestyle and sense of coherence; p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The correlation between LS and SOC was higher among males and higher among Medical and Human sciences students compared to Exact sciences. Medical students' scores were higher than Applied sciences and Human sciences students on the LS questionnaire. Exact science students' scores on the SOC questionnaire were higher than Human sciences students. In the LS areas related to alcohol intake, sleeping quality, and behavior, there were no differences between the areas. However, women scored better in the nutrition domain and alcohol intake. The SOC was also higher in men compared to women.

Conclusion: The results obtained demonstrate in an unprecedented way in the literature that the correlation between the LS and SOC of college students varies according to gender and areas of knowledge, reflecting the importance of actions on improving students' quality of life and enabling better academic performance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Total lifestyle scores regarding each study area.
*p<0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Total sense of coherence scores regarding each study area.
*p<0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Distribution of domains in the Applied sciences (blue), Human sciences (green), and Medicine (brown) areas, based on the Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire p < 0.05.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Distribution of domains in the Applied sciences (blue), Human sciences (green), and Medicine (brown) areas, based on the Sense of Coherence p < 0.05.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Correlation between Lifestyle and Sense of Coherence by area of knowledge.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Correlation between Lifestyle and Sense of Coherence by gender.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Box plot representing the total score of each domain of the Fantastic questionnaire divided by male and female genders.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Box plot representing the total score of each Sense of Coherence domain, divided by male and female genders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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