The relationship between lifestyle and self-reported health in a general population: the Inter99 study.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper is to describe the relationship between smoking status, dietary habits, physical activity and alcohol intake, and mental and physical self-reported health in a general population.


METHODS
A large population-based study Inter99, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1999-2006. Self-reported health-related quality of life was measured by Short Form 12 (SF-12). Mental and physical health component scores were computed.


RESULTS
At baseline, SF-12 was completed by 6305 (92.3%) participants in the intervention groups, and 3017 (72.4%) persons in the control group. In cross-sectional analyses, persons with an unhealthy lifestyle reported significantly worse physical and mental health than persons with a healthier lifestyle. In longitudinal data, using adjusted multivariate analyses (N=3,084), we found an association between increased physical activity at five-year follow-up and improvement in physical health ( odds ratio=2.30 (95% confidence interval=1.7-3.2)) in the high-intensity intervention group. Improvement in mental health was associated with a much healthier diet at 5-year follow-up than at baseline ( odds ratio=1.68 (95% confidence interval=1.1-2.5)).


CONCLUSIONS
This study describes the negative relationship between unhealthy lifestyle and self-reported mental and physical health in a general population. Also, it shows the impact of improvements in lifestyle on self-reported health in a general population, which has not been investigated before.
Pisinger
Charlotta
C
Research Centre for Prevention and Health, The Capital Region of Denmark. chpi@glo.regionh.dk
Toft
Ulla
U
Aadahl
Mette
M
Glümer
Charlotte
C
Jørgensen
Torben
T
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010358:Patient Participation; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D011336:Probability; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires