Open AccessHealth behaviors, outcomes and their relationships among young men aged 18-24 years in a rural area of north India: A cross-sectional study
Author(s) -
Sumit Malhotra,
Shashi Kant,
Farhad Ahamed,
Rama Shankar Rath,
Mani Kalaivani,
Sanjeev Kumar Gupta,
S Ramadass,
Vineet Kumar Pathak,
Abhishek Jaiswal,
Raghavan Parthasarath,
Bhabani Prasad Acharya,
Vignesh Dwarakanathan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0220285
Subject(s) - medicine , demography , cross sectional study , confidence interval , loneliness , young adult , marital status , sexual intercourse , suicidal ideation , rural area , poison control , injury prevention , gerontology , population , environmental health , psychiatry , pathology , sociology
Background There is limited information related to health behaviors and their related factors among young men in rural setting of India. This study was conducted to investigate multiple health risk behaviors and outcomes among young men aged 18–24 years in rural India. Methods This was a community-based cross-sectional survey conducted in the Ballabgarh block of Faridabad district, Haryana, India. Information regarding socio-demographic details, substance use, injury & violence, mental health and sexual behaviors were collected using a semi-structured interview schedule. Age adjusted prevalence estimates of behaviors and outcomes are computed along with 95% Confidence Intervals. Mediation analysis was carried out to examine relationships between socio-demographic variables, select behaviors and outcomes reported in the study. Results A total of 836 young men participated in the study, with mean (SD) age of 20.6 (1.9) years. The age-adjusted prevalence (with 95% Confidence Interval) for ever use of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances was 34.2% (33.9, 34.5), 23.4% (23.2, 23.6), and 4.5% (4.4, 4.5), respectively. Loneliness and suicidal thoughts were reported by 237 and 35 youth men with age adjusted prevalence as 28.6%, 95% CI: 28.4–28.8 and 4.3%, 95% CI: 4.23–4.31, respectively. A total of 330 young men met serious injury in past one year (prevalence 39.3%, 95%CI: 39.01–39.67). Almost one-third of men (prevalence 30.6%, 95%CI: 30.34–30.85) had engaged in pre-marital sexual intercourse. Current substance use was found to be significant mediator for associations with socio-demographic variables studied for dependent variables viz. pre-marital sexual intercourse and serious injury. Conclusion High prevalence of various risk behaviors and outcomes was found in young men aged 18–24 years in our rural setting. It is imperative that multi-component health intervention package be rolled out to address these.