Co-prevalence of unhealthy behaviors and its influence factors among rural elderly residents

  Objective  To investigate the co-prevalence of without regular physical exercise, smoking, alcohol drinking, unhealthy eating habits and abnormal body weight and its influence factors among rural elderly residents and to provide evidences for reducing the prevalence of unhealthy behaviors and improving the health level in the elderly.

  Methods  Using convenience sampling, we conducted a questionnaire survey among 2 346 residents aged 60 years and above in rural regions of Fujian, Henan, and Hebei province from January to March, 2018. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze influencing factors of the co-prevalence of the 5 unhealthy behaviors.

  Results  Of the responders, 35.4% and 34.7% reported having two and three or more of the five unhealthy behaviors. Multivariate logistic analysis demonstrated that the responders of male gender, without formal education, with an average annual household income of less than 30 000 yuan RMB per capita, having chronic disease, and living in rural regions were more likely to have the co-occurrence of unhealthy behaviors (all P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Clustering of unhealthy behaviors is common among rural elderly residents and the co-prevalence of unhealthy behaviors is associated with gender, education, household income per capita, chronic disease and residential region among the elderly. The results suggest that comprehensive intervention on the unhealthy behaviors should be promoted in the population.