CORRELATIONS BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL INDICATORS AND SELF-RATED HEALTH IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Aim. This paper aims to analyze functional status and identify its relationship to self-rated health in university students. Materials and methods. This study involved 134 university students aged 18–22 years. Functional diagnostics included resting heart rate and blood pressure, external respiration parameters, and hand dynamometry. Self-rated health data were obtained using questions from the WHO Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and an adapted questionnaire for physical activity monitoring in Russian schoolchildren (international “Health Behavior in Schoolchildren” project). The data obtained were processed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results. Higher self-rated physical fitness was linked to greater hand grip strength and lower heart rate, thereby suggesting that self-rated physical fitness may reflect strength and functional status. Self-rated health and chronic disease history predicted strength capacity. Strength and functional characteristics of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems were significantly correlated. Strength characteristics correlated with self-rated health, and self-rated physical fitness exhibited significant correlations with heart rate. Conclusions. Strength characteristics are correlated with self-rated health. Self-rated physical fitness is significantly correlated with heart rate and, by objective criteria, may serve as a factor that stabilizes the body’s functional systems.