A Descriptive Study on Multiple Health-Risk Behaviors among Chinese Adults in Hong Kong

Ho Cheung William Li (), Laurie Long Kwan Ho, Oi Kwan Joyce Chung, Ankie Tan Cheung, Wei Xia and Peige Song
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Ho Cheung William Li: Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Laurie Long Kwan Ho: Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Oi Kwan Joyce Chung: School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
Ankie Tan Cheung: Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Wei Xia: School of Nursing, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Peige Song: School of Public Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310027, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-10

Abstract: This study investigated the prevalence and clustering patterns of multiple health-risk behaviors and their associations with non-communicable diseases among Chinese adults in Hong Kong. A large sample survey was conducted in all 18 districts of Hong Kong between 21 June and 31 August 2021. A total of 5737 adults completed the survey. Overall, 4605 (80.3%) had at least one health-risk behavior and 2696 (47.0%) had two or more health-risk behaviors. Multiple health-risk behaviors were more prevalent among men. The prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption among Hong Kong Chinese women was considerably lower than in most Western countries. In contrast to previous findings, this study revealed that a high proportion of adults with high educational attainment or household income had multiple health-risk behaviors. In addition, this study revealed that the health-risk behaviors in Chinese adults co-occurred in clusters, with smoking and alcohol consumption co-occurring with other health-risk behaviors. Those who smoked or consumed alcohol had the highest proportion of multiple health-risk behaviors and the highest proportion of non-communicable diseases. The findings of this study add further evidence that health-risk behaviors co-occur in clusters and can contribute to non-communicable diseases.

Keywords: drinking alcohol; multiple health-risk behaviors; non-communicable diseases; smoking; physical inactivity; unhealthy diet (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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