General Health Status, Quality Of Life and Social Support of Young Athletes and Young Non-Athletes in Yazd

Seyed Saeed   Mazloomy Mahmoodabad; Nahid  Ardian; Hadi  Eslami

doi:10.18502/sbrh.v3i1.1037

Seyed Saeed Mazloomy Mahmoodabad
Nahid Ardian
Hadi Eslami

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/sbrh.v3i1.1037

Keywords: General Health, Quality Of Life, Social Support, Sports, Youth

Abstract

Background: One of the factors influencing the level of general health and quality of life of individuals, is the level of social support that people enjoy. Given the importance of general health, quality of life and the amount of social support and their relationship with the level of physical activity in young people in Yazd province counties were studied.

Methods: The study population of this descriptive, cross-sectional study consisted of 15- to 29-year-old people. Given the study population, sample size was calculated for the counties Yazd, Mehriz, Ardakan and Meybod separately.

Methods: A total of 1533 people were selected by cluster sampling, and a person aged 15-29 years from each family completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire used, in addition to demographic questions, included three sections general health questionnaire (GHQ-28), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and World Health Organization Quality Of Life Brief (WHOQOL-BREF). The data were analyzed by SPSS₁₈, nonparametric statistical tests and Pearson's correlation.

Results: The mean general health score of youth was 30.82 (9.56) and the mean scores of their quality of life and social support were 38.32 (8.67) and 42.64 (7.73), respectively. Mental health, quality of life and social support were significantly associated with education level (P-value ≤ 0.001).

The quality of life of young athletes was higher than that of young non-athletes (P-value ≤ 0.001). General health and social support were higher in women than in men (P-value ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion: The general health level of Yazd youth is higher than the cut-off point and not optimal, but based on social and cultural conditions in this province, the levels of social support and quality of life were found to be satisfactory. Planning to increase the level of vitality and exercise in different fields can be an opportunity to improve the general health of young people.