2026-04-05T00:05:20.042951452Zhttps://dspace.library.uu.nl/server/oai/request

oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/3766772026-03-27T08:08:40Zcom_1874_296827col_1874_296828

info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Behavioral risk factor clusters among university students at nine universities in Libya El Ansari, Walid Khalil, Khalid A Ssewanyana, Derrick Stock, Christiane university students gender risk factors health behaviors cluster analysis SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being Objectives: This study identifies and describes the clustering of 5 behavioral risk factors (BRFs) among university students. We also investigated whether cluster membership is associated with the students' self-rated academic performance and self-rated health. Material and methods: A sample of 1300 undergraduates at 6 universities and 3 colleges in Libya completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed BRFs (nutrition, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, illicit drug use, inadequate sleep). A two-step cluster analysis generated student clusters with similar lifestyles. Results: Two contrasting clusters of almost even size emerged (after exclusion of alcohol and illicit drug use due to very low prevalence). Cluster 1 comprised students with higher engagement in all forms of physical activity, higher levels of health consciousness, greater daily fruit/vegetable intake and better sleep patterns than students in cluster 2. Only as regards the consumption of sweets, cluster 1 students had less favorable practices than cluster 2 students. The prevalence of smoking was equally low in both clusters. Students in cluster 2, depicting a less healthy lifestyle, were characterized by a higher proportion of women, of students with less income and of higher years of study. Belonging to cluster 2 was associated with lower self-rated health (OR: 0.46, p < 0.001) and with lower self-rated academic performance (OR: 0.66, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Preventive programs should not address BRFs in isolation and should particularly target students with clustering of BRFs using specifically tailored approaches. Leerstoel Baar Development and Treatment of Psychosocial Problems 2018 Article text/plain https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/376677 AIMS Public Health 5(3), 296-311 (2018) en 2327-8994