title: Patterns of health risk behaviors among job-seekers: a latent class analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the patterning of four behavior-related health risk factors (tobacco smoking, risky alcohol drinking, overweight, and physical inactivity) among job-seekers and to investigate socio-demographic and health-related predictors of patterning.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample of 3,684 female and 4,221 male job-seekers was proactively recruited at three job agencies in northeastern Germany in 2008/09. Participants provided data on socio-demographics, substance use, body mass index, physical activity and self-rated health. Latent class analyses (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression analyses were applied to identify health risk patterns and possible predictors of patterning, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-three percent of the female and 58% of the male participants had two or more health risk factors. LCA revealed three similar patterns for women and men: Substance use (tobacco smoking, risky drinking), Non-exercising overweight (physical inactivity, overweight/obesity) and Health-conscious (non-smoking, low-risk drinking, under-/normal weight, physical activity). Age, education, marital status, life-time unemployment and self-rated health were significantly associated with patterning in both genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results may help to define target populations for improving health behaviors among job-seekers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine and Prevention, University Medicine Greifswald, Walther-Rathenau-Str. 48, 17475, Greifswald, Germany, inga.schnuerer@gmx.ch.
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schnuerer
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haberecht
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gaertner
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Jennis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Freyer-Adam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007586:Job Application; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult