Adolescent health level study in a secondary school

Abstract

Objective: Establish a statistical association between academic results and knowledge about different health areas.

Design: descriptive, transversal

Setting: Vigo Secondary school

Participants: Students of 4th ESO and 1st Baccalaureate aged between 15 and 17 years. N=249

Main measurements: A questionnaire with questions on topics related to sexual health, food, physical exercise, mental health and drug addiction will be distributed in each classroom. Likewise, the age at the time of the study, the sex of the subject and the average of the last completed academic year will be collected.

Results: The level of health in adolescents is associated with their academic performance (p <0.033; 95% CI: 0.014-0.33). The Mediterranean diet has been the only variable studied independently in this work that has shown a statistically significant association (p <0.001; 95% CI: 0.27-1.02) with high academic performance. Regarding theoretical knowledge about sexual health, there is a statistically significant association with age (p <0.01; 95% CI 0.023-0.032). Physical activity is related to high mental health scores (p <0.001; 95% CI: 0.11-0.42). In any case, drug use is also associated with a greater perception of mental health.

Conclusions: The level of health in adolescents is associated with their academic performance. The Mediterranean diet is the only independently studied variable that shows a direct relationship with grades. This makes us think that increasing the presence of health knowledge in the classroom could contribute to improving their academic level.