Unsupervised clustering analysis of comprehensive health status and its influencing factors on women of childbearing age: a cross-sectional study from a province in central China.

BACKGROUND: Most previous studies on women of childbearing age have focused on reproductive health and fertility intentions, and evidence regarding the comprehensive health status of women of childbearing age is limited. This study aimed to comprehensively examine the health status of women of childbearing age through a multi-method and multi-indicator evaluation, analyze the factors that influence their overall health, and provide sound recommendations for the improvement and promotion of healthy behaviors. METHODS: Data on women of childbearing age living in Shanxi Province were collected between September 2021 and January 2022 through online and offline surveys. The k-means algorithm was used to assess health-related patterns in women, and multivariate nonconditional logistic regression was used to assess the influencing factors of women's overall health. RESULTS: In total, 1,258 of 2,925 (43%) participants were classified as having a good health status in all five domains of the three health dimensions: quality of life, mental health, and illness. Multivariate logistic regression showed that education level, gynecological examination status, health status of family members, access to medical treatment, age, cooking preferences, diet, social support, hand washing habits, attitude toward breast cancer prevention, and awareness of reproductive health were significantly associated with different health patterns. CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive health status of women of childbearing age in Shanxi Province is generally good; however, a large proportion of women with deficiencies in some dimensions remains. Since lifestyle greatly impacts women's health, health education on lifestyle and health-related issues should be strengthened.

The prevalence and burden of four major chronic diseases in the Shanxi Province of Northern China.

Background: Chronic non-communicable diseases constitute an important public health problem that is closely related to behavioral risk factors. The study examined the prevalence, burden, and behavioral risk factors relevant to four major chronic diseases in Shanxi Province, China. The results obtained could provide a basis for the formulation of chronic disease prevention and control strategies in north China. Methods: A multi-stage random sampling method was used to select 14,137 residents aged ≥15 years who completed a questionnaire survey and physical examination. The disease burden was evaluated using the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) index. The extent of disease burden attributable to smoking and drinking behavior was analyzed using counterfactual analysis. Results: The total DALYs due to the four major chronic diseases was 938,100. The years of life lost due to stroke accounted for 74.86%; the years of life lived with disabilities accounted for 54.0 and 68.1% of the total disease burden of coronary heart disease and diabetes. Coronary heart disease attributed to smoking (105,600) was the highest, followed by stroke (77,200), hypertension (6,000), and diabetes mellitus (5,900). Stroke attributed to drinking (30,700) was the highest followed by coronary heart disease (16,700) and diabetes (1,100). The disease burden caused by smoking and drinking was higher in men (164,000 and 40,700, respectively) than in women (30,700 and 7,300, respectively). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence and significant burden associated with major chronic diseases in Shanxi Province. Therefore, the need for the application of various interventions to control smoking and drinking (the major predisposing factors) should be applied to reduce this burden.

Identifying Excessive Intake of Oil and Salt to Prevent and Control Hypertension: A Latent Class Analysis.

Introduction: To identify health hazard behaviors and provide a basis for targeted management and intervention for patients with hypertension, we classified their health-related behaviors. Methods: A multi-stage random sampling method was used to conduct an on-site questionnaire survey among residents aged ≥15 years in a certain urban area of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, China. A latent class analysis was used to classify the lifestyle behaviors of patients with hypertension. The lifestyle behavior characteristics of different types of patients with hypertension and their awareness of hypertension were assessed. Results: The prevalence of hypertension in Taiyuan City was 19.5%. Patients with hypertension were classified into three clusters according to their lifestyle patterns: smoking and drinking (13.35%), excessive edible oil and salt intake (68.27%), and healthy behavior (18.38%). Comparing the three latent classes of lifestyle, the distribution of age, sex, marital status, and education level was different (P < 0.05). The awareness of hypertension and the rate of control among the three classes were also different (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The lifestyle behaviors of patients with hypertension have evident classification characteristics. Approximately two-thirds of the patients with hypertension have an excessive intake of oil and salt. Therefore, targeted and precise intervention measures should be taken to control the intake of oil and salt in this cohort.