Correlates of self-reported physical health status of students of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Young people including university students are a justifiable target for health status assessment as they form a large group that only recently escaped the adverse mortality experiences of childhood. This study was conducted in the University of Ibadan to determine the state and correlates of students' physical health. Seven hundred and fifty students were randomly selected from all eleven halls of residence by multi stage sampling. Questionnaires derived from the Duke Health Profile, a generic health instrument were administered by trained student peers and responses scored using the recommended guidelines. The overall response rate was 96.5%. The sample consisted of 484 males and 240 females; 602 undergraduate and 122 graduate students giving a male:female ratio of 2:1 and undergraduate:graduate student ratio of 5:1, similar to the ratio in the 18,690 strong general student body. All the university's faculties were represented. Most (92.3%) of the respondents were single. The group had a mean age of 23.8 years (SD 4.6). The mean physical health score was 7.9 (SD 1.67) out of a possible maximum of 10. High scores were significantly associated with male gender and frequent exercise. Sixteen students (2.2%) reported a physical handicap and 122 (16.3%) a medically diagnosed chronic illness. A mean of 1.14 days of disability occurred among the students in the month preceding the survey. Common causes of morbidity reported included fever (59.8%), nervousness (12.4%), cough (12.3%) and sleeping disorders (11.2%). The high mean physical health score recorded in this study indicates that students have an overall good level of functioning. However physical health status was associated with several lifestyle and personal factors.