@article{ref1,
title="Influence of health risk behavior and socio-economic status on health of Slovak adolescents",
journal="Croatian medical journal",
year="2003",
author="Madarasova Geckova, Andrea and van Dijk, Jitse P. and Honcariv, Robert and Groothoff, Johan W. and Post, Doeke",
volume="44",
number="1",
pages="41-49",
abstract="AIM: To investigate the role of health risk behavior, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, in the explanation of socio-economic health differences among adolescents. The hypothesis of different exposure and the hypothesis of different vulnerability were explored. METHOD: In the study carried out in 1998, the prevalence of health complaints of smokers vs non-smokers, alcohol consumers vs abstainers, and among different socio-economic groups of 2,616 Slovak adolescents (mean age, 14.9-/+0.62 years) were investigated by means of self-reported questionnaires. The adolescents were stratified according to sex and type of secondary school. RESULTS: Socio-economic disadvantage and the presence of health risk behavior were associated with greater frequency of health complaints by adolescents. Prevalence of smokers was higher in lower socio-economic groups, but no such trend was found for the prevalence of alcohol consumers. Socio-economic status and health risk behavior interactively influenced health, when socio-economic status was assessed according to the mother's characteristics. Socio-economic health differences between non-smokers and abstainers were not significant, unlike the differences between the smokers and alcohol consumers. The influence of health risk behavior was weaker in higher socio-economic groups. CONCLUSION: Both hypotheses, of different exposure and different vulnerability, could explain socio-economic health differences among Slovak adolescents, with different exposure playing a more important role.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0353-9504",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}