Associations between self-rated health, mental health problems and physical inactivity among urban adolescents

Abstract

Background: Self-rated health is a valid and reliable subjective indicator of general health. We aimed to assess the associations between self-rated health, mental health problems, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and BMI among Slovak urban adolescents. Methods: Data were collected within the EU-FP7: EURO-URHIS 2 (The European Health Indicator System Part 2) project in two largest Slovak cities: Bratislava and Kosice. Sample included 1111 adolescents (response rate 73.7%, mean age 14.32_0.48 years, 52.8% boys). Self-rated health was measured with the first item from the Short Form Health Survey 36 questionnaire, mental health problems were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and for physical activity and sedentary behaviour questions from the WHO HBSC questionnaire were used. Logistic regression was performed to determine the associations between self-rated health and the independent variables. Results: Self-rated health was found to be significantly associated with mental health problems, sedentary behaviour and BMI. However, the strongest association was found with engagement in physical activity every day (OR 8.0; 95% CI 1.6 39.9). Conclusions: Previous research revealed that self-rated health was associated with various mental health problems. Our findings add to these results by showing that physical activity and sedentary behaviour are also very important additional factors related to self-rated health. Better understanding of these associations can help in developing more effective public health intervention programmes for adolescents.