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. 2023 Nov 17:13:04151.
doi: 10.7189/jogh.13.04151.

Influence of lifestyle on suboptimal health: Insights from a national cross-sectional survey in China

Jie Wang #  1 , Yinghao Wang #  1 , Zheng Guo #  2   3 , Zi Lin  4 , Xiangqian Jin  1 , Hui Niu  4 , Yibo Wu  5 , Lihua Tang  6 , Haifeng Hou  7
Affiliations

Influence of lifestyle on suboptimal health: Insights from a national cross-sectional survey in China

Jie Wang et al. J Glob Health. .

Abstract

Background: Suboptimal health status (SHS) is a non-clinical or pre-disease state between optimal/ideal health and disease. While its etiology remains unclear, lifestyle is considered one of the most important risk factors. We aimed to examine the effects of lifestyles on SHS through a nationwide survey in China.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 148 cities across China between 20 June and 31 August 2022, on 30 505 participants from rural and urban communities gathered through stratified quota sampling. We measured SHS with the Short-Form Suboptimal Health Status Questionnaire (SHSQ-SF). We gathered information on participants' lifestyles (ie, smoking, alcohol consumption, breakfast habits, weekly food delivery frequency, intermittent fasting, sleep duration and physical activities) through face-to-face interview. We determined the relationship between lifestyle and SHS logistic regression analysis by based on odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: We included 22 897 participants (female: 13 056, male: 9841), 12 108 (52.88%) of whom reported exposure to SHS. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, individuals who currently smoked (OR = 1.165; 95% CI = 1.058-1.283) and those who drank alcohol (OR = 1.483; 95% CI = 1.377.1.596) were at a higher risk of SHS than those who have never done either. In a dose-response way, takeaway food consumption was associated with a higher risk of SHS, while increased frequency of breakfast and mild-intensity exercise conversely reduced said risk. Individuals with shorter sleep duration had a higher risk of SHS when compared to those who slept for more than seven hours per day.

Conclusions: We observed a relatively high prevalence of SHS across China, highlighting the importance of lifestyle in health promotion. Specifically, adopting healthy dietary habits, engaging in regular physical activity, and ensuring high-quality sleep are key in preventing SHS.

Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200061046).

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of participant recruitment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest map of the multivariate logistic regression analysis. CI – confidence interval, OR – odds ratio, ref – reference.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk and protective factors of SHS. SHS – suboptimal health status, OHS – optimal health status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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