title: [Socioeconomic status and risky health behaviors in Croatian adult population].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Based on the previous research, there is strong association between low socioeconomic status (SES) and high morbidity and mortality rates. Even though association between SES and risky health behaviors as the main factors influencing health has been investigated in Croatian population, some questions are yet to be answered. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, smoking and excessive drinking in low, middle, and high socioeconomic group of adult Croatian population included in the cohort study on regionalism of cardiovascular health risk behaviors. We also investigated the association between SES measured by income, education and occupation, as well as single SES indicators, and risky health behaviors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data on 1227 adult men and women (aged 19 and older at baseline) with complete data on health behaviors, SES and chronic diseases at baseline (2003) and 5-year follow up. Respondents were classified as being healthy or chronically ill. SES categories were derived from answers to questions on monthly household income, occupation and education by using two-step cluster analysis algorithm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, for the whole sample as well as for healthy respondents, SES was statistically significantly associated with unhealthy diet (whole sample/healthy respondents: p = 0.001), physical inactivity (whole sample/healthy respondents p = 0.44/ p = 0.007), and smoking (whole sample/healthy respondents p < 0.001/p = 0.002). The proportion of respondents with unhealthy diet was greatest in the lowest social class, smokers in the middle and physically inactive in the high social class. During the follow up, smoking and physical inactivity remained statistically significantly associated with SES. In chronically ill respondents, only smoking was statistically significantly associated with SES, at baseline and follow up (p = 0.001/p = 0.002). The highest share of smokers was in the middle social class.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of our study show that risky health behaviors are associated with SES and are divergently represented across socioeconomic groups of adult Croatian population. There is an obvious need for interventions targeting the specific socioeconomic group and behavior characteristic of that group.
authors.affiliation: Sveuciliste u Zagrebu, Medicinskifakultet, Skola narodnog zdravlja "Andrija Stampar", Zagreb, Hrvatska. leta.pilic@gmail.com
authors.forename: Leta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pilić
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dzakula
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017523:Croatia; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult