PSYCHOSOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL-FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SERUM-LIPIDS IN UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS

Citation
Al. Unden et al., PSYCHOSOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL-FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SERUM-LIPIDS IN UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS, Social science & medicine, 41(7), 1995, pp. 915-922
Citations number
36
Categorie Soggetti
Social Sciences, Biomedical","Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath
Journal title
ISSN journal
02779536
Volume
41
Issue
7
Year of publication
1995
Pages
915 - 922
Database
ISI
SICI code
0277-9536(1995)41:7<915:PABAWS>2.0.ZU;2-G
Abstract
The impact of psychosocial and behavioral factors on serum lipids was examined in 46 male and 47 female students with a mean age of 23 years . Subjects were recruited from the University of Stockholm and the stu dy was performed with the Student Health Care Organization in order to have a basis for intervention programs. Significant associations betw een serum lipids and parental education, regularity of breakfast habit s, nourishing eating, social support, depressive feelings and quality of life are found. However, there is no consistent pattern for these a ssociations in men and women. Thus, some associations are significant for men and some for women. Women with parents having higher levels of education had lower values of cholesterol, triglycerides and apo B, a nd higher values of apo A-1 (representing the 'good' cholesterol) than women whose parents were not highly educated. When controlling the as sociations for confounding factors such as age, body mass index, physi cal activity, coffee, alcohol, smoking habits, nourishing eating and q uality of life, the associations were strongly confirmed. No similar a ssociations were found in men. Men who reported low social support or social integration and a low perceived quality of life showed a tenden cy to higher levels of lipids compared to those who reported high inte gration and quality of life. Regularity of dietary habits was found to be associated to serum lipids in men, the greater the regularity, the lower the lipid levels. The strongest association was found for regul arity of breakfast habits. This association was also strongly signific ant in the regression analysis after controlling for the described con founding factors. A significant association between apo B only and bre akfast habits was apparent in the regression analysis even in women.