Self-perceived health, sociodemographic and behavioral factors in a university community

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the association between sociodemographic and behavioral variables with self-perceived health in a university population. Methods: Epidemiological, cross-sectional study with 1655 participants from a university in the interior of Minas Gerais. An online form adapted from the ‘ConVid: Behavior Survey’ and the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire were employed. Multinomial regression was performed with a significance level of α=5%. Results: Factors associated with an negative self-perceived health included non-white race, having a complete high school education, experiencing income reduction or loss, reporting a deterioration in health status, being diagnosed with one or more chronic diseases, presenting five or more symptoms, and three to four symptoms of COVID-19, not meeting recommendations for walking, moderate and vigorous physical activity, high screen time, being classified as obese, and smoking. Conclusions: This study revealed that variables such as race, educational level, financial status, changes in health, disease diagnosis, COVID-19 symptoms, nutritional status, insufficient physical activity, and sedentary behavior were associated with the worsening of self-perceived health in the university population during the COVID-19 pandemic.