Identifying patterns of lifestyle behaviours linked to sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions among young adults in South Korea

Aims: To identify specific patterns of lifestyle behaviours among young adults and examine the relationships of the patterns to sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions (hypertension, diabetes and obesity). Design: Descriptive, correlational study. Methods: Data from a nationally representative sample of 4562 young adults aged 19–39, who participated in the 2016–2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, were analysed. Latent class analysis was used to identify the patterns of lifestyle behaviours, including smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and vaccination. Generalized linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationships among lifestyle behaviour patterns, sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions. Results: Three patterns of lifestyle behaviours were identified: physically active (6.9%), high risk (21.5%) and passive (71.6%). The membership of these three patterns was significantly associated with sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, education level, occupation and living arrangement). Among the three groups, young adults in the high-risk group were found to be significantly associated with all three health conditions (hypertension, diabetes and obesity) while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion: These results indicate that young adults are likely to engage in unhealthy lifestyle behaviours that are related to individual socioeconomic conditions, which could negatively affect their health conditions. Impact: This study provides insights into the lifestyle behaviours among young adults who have been recognized to be socially disadvantaged. This could help develop education and prevention programmes tailored to specific patterns of lifestyle behaviours for improving health while considering their socioeconomic contexts. No Patient or Public Contribution: This applies to this research as the focus was on young adults in South Korea only.