The effects of socio-cultural factors on medical college students' self-rated health status and health-promoting lifestyles in Eritrea: A cross-sectional study

Sub-optimal health status (SHS) and unhealthy lifestyle among college students have become a major focus for research on public health worldwide. Hence, this study was designed to assess the effects of socio-cultural factors on medical college students' self-rated health status (SRH) and health-promoting lifestyles (HPL) in Eritrea. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Orotta School of Medicine (OSM), using a self-administered questionnaire. Data was collected from all medical students who had fulfilled the inclusion criteria using Sub-Optimal Health Measurement Scale (SHMS V1.0) and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II) scale questionnaires. Independent samples t-test, ANOVA, Chi-square test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Binary multivariate logistic regression were performed. Data analysis was undertaken using SPSS version 22. The overall SRH was significantly higher among college students with BMI of 25 to 29.9 (M=88.23, SD=6.28) as compared to <18.5 (p=0.027) and 18.5 to 24.9 (p=0.027). Moreover, physiological subscale of SRH was significantly related to gender (M males=88.96 Vs M females=85.41, p=0.001) and monthly stipend (M income=89.52 Vs M no-income=87.28, p=0.040). On the other hand, physical activity of HPL was found to vary by gender (M males=2.12 Vs M females=1.87, p=0.005) and alcohol consumption (M drinkers=2.22 Vs M non-drinkers=1.99, p=0.016). Nutrition differences of HPL were observed in BMI of 25 to 29.9 (M=2.40, p=0.028), internship students (M=2.15, p=0.027), and monthly income (M=2.11, p=0.029). The overall SRH was significantly correlated with the overall HPL (r=0.493, p<0.001). In addition, students who had high (≥good) HPL were more likely to rate themselves as healthier: AOR=4.97, 95% CI: 1.28-19.32 and AOR=3.73, 95% CI: 1.09-12.80. In all, the study adds to the evidence on the impact of socio-cultural influences’ on SRH (gender, BMI, stipend) and HPL (gender, alcohol, BMI, study year, stipend) of medical students.