Self-reported chronic conditions in student population in Slovenia
Purpose/Objective: h e aims of this study were (1) to determine the prevalence of chronic diseases in a student population in Slovenia, (2) to determine the ef ects of chronic diseases on the use of health services. Methods: A cross-sectional web-survey among university students in Ljubljana a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Slovenian Medical Association
2010-01-01
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| Series: | Zdravniški Vestnik |
| Online Access: | http://vestnik.szd.si/index.php/ZdravVest/article/view/221 |
| Summary: | Purpose/Objective: h e aims of this study
were (1) to determine the prevalence of
chronic diseases in a student population
in Slovenia, (2) to determine the ef ects of
chronic diseases on the use of health services.
Methods: A cross-sectional web-survey
among university students in Ljubljana and
Maribor, Slovenia took place in March and
April 2008. Data were analyzed using SPSS
version 13.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA),
and chi-square test, t-test and binary logistic
regression analysis were performed.
Results: h e prevalence of chronic diseases
in the student population was 40.3 %. h e
most common chronic diseases were allergies (excluding hay fever) (14.9 %), hay fever
(11.4 %), followed by skin diseases (9.2 %) and
anxiety (5.3 %). Both high blood pressure and
asthma had a higher prevalence in men than
in women (p < 0.001 and p = 0.023, respectively). Students with chronic conditions less
ot en thought that they can inl uence their
own health by self-treatment, experienced
stress in the previous week, more likely visited or contacted his/her personal doctor in the past year, more likely purchased medications for self-treatment from a pharmacist in
the past year, were more aware of the facts
that self-treatment may hide the symptoms
and signs of illness to such extent that the
doctor may not be able to recognize it or
overlook it completely. Conclusion: A greater awareness of the prevalence and impact of chronic diseases in students is warranted and the existing interventions should be changed in order to achieve a
better life quality of university students. |
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| ISSN: | 1318-0347 1581-0224 |