IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v12y2015i12p15019-15806d60405.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparison of Subjective Health Complaints between Chinese and German University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Author

Listed:
  • Janet Junqing Chu

    (Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstr. 25, Bielefeld 33615, Germany)

  • Mobarak Hossain Khan

    (Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstr. 25, Bielefeld 33615, Germany)

  • Heiko J. Jahn

    (Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstr. 25, Bielefeld 33615, Germany)

  • Alexander Kraemer

    (Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Universitaetsstr. 25, Bielefeld 33615, Germany)

Abstract

High rates of health complaints (HCs) with substantial variation are reported in different university populations, which can be linked to socio-demographic, lifestyle-related factors, and cultural differences. HCs can be categorized into distinct components. This study aimed to identify and compare underlying dimensions of HCs (HC components); to access and compare HC prevalence, and the associations between HC components, socio-demographic, lifestyle-related factors, and perceived stress in German and Chinese university students. Two health surveys were conducted among 5159 university students (1853 Chinese, 3306 German). Factor analysis and logistic regression were applied. The prevalence of HC ranged from 4.6% to 40.2% over the two countries. Germans reported at least three HCs more often (47.2% vs. 35.8%). Chinese students more often reported gastrointestinal complaints. Perceived stress was positively associated with all three HC components in both countries (OR = 1.03–1.50) with stronger associations among Germans. Women more often reported HCs (OR = 1.32–2.43) with stronger associations among the Germans. Having a father with a low educational level was associated with high psychological symptoms among the Chinese (OR = 1.51), but with low gastrointestinal complaints among the Germans (OR = 0.79). The high prevalence of HCs in students requires country-specific interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Junqing Chu & Mobarak Hossain Khan & Heiko J. Jahn & Alexander Kraemer, 2015. "Comparison of Subjective Health Complaints between Chinese and German University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:12:p:15019-15806:d:60405
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/12/15019/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/12/15019/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Walid El Ansari & Khalid Khalil & Christiane Stock, 2014. "Symptoms and Health Complaints and Their Association with Perceived Stressors among Students at Nine Libyan Universities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-20, November.
    2. Torsheim, Torbjorn & Aaroe, Leif Edvard & Wold, Bente, 2001. "Sense of coherence and school-related stress as predictors of subjective health complaints in early adolescence: interactive, indirect or direct relationships?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 603-614, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Walid El Ansari & Abdul Salam, 2020. "Is Achieving the Guidelines of Four Forms of Physical Activity Associated with Less Self-Reported Health Complaints? Cross-Sectional Study of Undergraduates at the University of Turku, Finland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-19, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zsuzsa Lábiscsák-Erdélyi & Ilona Veres-Balajti & Annamária Somhegyi & Karolina Kósa, 2022. "Self-Esteem Is Independent Factor and Moderator of School-Related Psychosocial Determinants of Life Satisfaction in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Jellesma, Francine C. & Rieffe, Carolien & Terwogt, Mark Meerum & Kneepkens, C.M. Frank, 2006. "Somatic complaints and health care use in children: Mood, emotion awareness and sense of coherence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2640-2648, November.
    3. Petr Badura & Erik Sigmund & Andrea Madarasova Geckova & Dagmar Sigmundova & Jan Sirucek & Jitse P van Dijk & Sijmen A Reijneveld, 2016. "Is Participation in Organized Leisure-Time Activities Associated with School Performance in Adolescence?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, April.
    4. Hanssen, Grete & Utvær, Britt Karin, 2022. "Sense of coherence among apprentices in vocational education and training in Norway: Exploring general resistance resources in work-based learning," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 9(3), pages 363-389.
    5. Holly Heard & Bridget Gorman & Carolyn Kapinus, 2008. "Family Structure and Self-Rated Health in Adolescence and Young Adulthood," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 27(6), pages 773-797, December.
    6. Nowall Al-Sayegh & Khazna Al-Enezi & Mohammed Nadar & Elizabeth Dean, 2020. "Health Status, Behaviors, and Beliefs of Health Sciences Students and Staff at Kuwait University: Toward Maximizing the Health of Future Health Professionals and Their Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-15, November.
    7. Unni Karin Moksnes & Geir Arild Espnes, 2020. "Sense of Coherence in Association with Stress Experience and Health in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-12, April.
    8. Michael Furlong & Sukkyung You & Tyler Renshaw & Douglas Smith & Meagan O’Malley, 2014. "Preliminary Development and Validation of the Social and Emotional Health Survey for Secondary School Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 1011-1032, July.
    9. Agbaria, Qutaiba & Ronen, Tammie & Hamama, Liat, 2012. "The link between developmental components (age and gender), need to belong and resources of self-control and feelings of happiness, and frequency of symptoms among Arab adolescents in Israel," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 2018-2027.
    10. Walid El Ansari & Abdul Salam, 2020. "Is Achieving the Guidelines of Four Forms of Physical Activity Associated with Less Self-Reported Health Complaints? Cross-Sectional Study of Undergraduates at the University of Turku, Finland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-19, August.
    11. Olalekan A. Ayo-Yusuf & Masego M. Rantao, 2013. "Influence of Rural Non-Smoking Adolescents’ Sense of Coherence and Exposure to Household Smoking on Their Commitment to a Smoke-Free Lifestyle," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-14, June.
    12. Elena Govorova & Isabel Benítez & José Muñiz, 2020. "Predicting Student Well-Being: Network Analysis Based on PISA 2018," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-18, June.
    13. Carlos Freire & María del Mar Ferradás & José Carlos Núñez & Antonio Valle & Guillermo Vallejo, 2018. "Eudaimonic Well-Being and Coping with Stress in University Students: The Mediating/Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    14. Natura Colomer-Pérez & Elena Chover-Sierra & Vicente Gea-Caballero & Joan J. Paredes-Carbonell, 2020. "Health Assets, Vocation and Zest for Healthcare Work. A Salutogenic Approach to Active Coping among Certified Nursing Assistant Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-17, May.
    15. Hongxiang Guo & Wenjie Yang & Ying Cao & Jian Li & Johannes Siegrist, 2014. "Effort-Reward Imbalance at School and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Family Socioeconomic Status," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:12:p:15019-15806:d:60405. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.