Health behavior among Lithuania's adolescents in context of European Union

Aim

To compare health behavior patterns of adolescents in Lithuania with health behavior of adolescents in European Union (EU) in 2001/2002.

Methods

The study was carried out in conformity with the methodology of Health Behavior in School-aged Children: a World Health Organization cross-national study. Three country representative samples of schoolchildren, aged 11, 13, and 15, were surveyed in 25 EU countries and regions in 2001/2002 school year. The study instrument was a standardized questionnaire that included questions on alcohol consumption, smoking, illegal drugs use, physical activity, and other patterns of health behavior. The rate or mean values of the targeted health behavior of Lithuanian students were assessed and compared to those calculated as an average for the EU countries and regions.

Results

We found an early onset of alcohol consumption among Lithuanian boys. Lithuanian boys and girls across all age groups reported being drunk two and more times more often than their peers from other EU member states. Lithuanian 15-year-old boys smoked more often that did their European peers, while girls smoke more rarely. The prevalence of drugs (marihuana group) use among Lithuanian students is relatively low: the prevalence of drug use among 15-year-olds in Lithuania is two times lower than the prevalence in other EU countries and regions (11.2% vs 24.5% for boys and 4.5% vs 18.3% for girls, respectively). Physical activity of Lithuanian adolescents is rather high in comparison with their EU peers, although many students watch television for ≥4 hours a day. Lithuanian students did not eat sweets often, or drank soft drinks (Coca Cola and other), and they ate fruits and had breakfast every school day. With respect to hygienic habits, approximately only one in 3 boys and every second girl brushed their teeth more than once a day.

Conclusions

There are health behavior differences between adolescents in Lithuania and those in other EU countries. The disparities among health behavior of young people in EU countries and regions require Lithuanian and EU health policy to develop initiatives aimed at decreasing health behavior inequalities.Lithuania’s joining the European Union (EU) was the most significant event for the country in 2004 and one of the most important steps in the integration of Lithuania into the international community. In this context, a critical and objective assessment of population health is needed to determine the level of health in Lithuania within the EU context (1).Good health implies longer, healthier, and more productive life, higher quality of life, and better basis for steady economic growth and sustainable development of the country (2). Therefore, investment in the health of youth is doubtlessly a key priority in all EU countries. Early investments in health typically pay off later in life (3).Over the last decades, dramatic social, political, and economic shifts, along with medical and public health interventions, have radically altered the profile of adolescent health around the world. Presently dominant negative social, behavioral, and environmental factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and drugs use, affect young people’s health and are the triggers for chronic non-communicable diseases in the future (4).The Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study carried out in Europe and North America showed an early onset of smoking and alcohol use, high consumption of sweets and soft drinks, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, and frequent skipping of breakfast among the adolescents (5). It also showed that most young people did not meet the recommended physical activity guidelines and that many reported spending long hours on doing homework, watching television, and on a computer. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) study showed that cannabis use among youth in most countries was increasing and that the differences in the cannabis use rates between the western European countries and North America were diminishing (6).Many European countries have undergone social and political changes as well as economic transition. Health has suffered most where economies were unable to ensure an adequate income for all, where social systems have collapsed, and where natural resources have been poorly managed, as evidenced by a health gap between the western and eastern parts of the EU region. Reduction in health inequalities, including disparities in health behavior, between the countries and regions is the first target of the “Health for All” initiative (3).Our aim was to compare health behavior patterns of adolescents in Lithuania and those in other EU countries.