DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bcc2fqzhd
title: Lifestyle and sense of coherence: A comparative analysis among university students in different areas of knowledge

description: Background: The concept of health has undergone profound changes.
 Lifestyle Medicine (LSM) consists of therapeutic approaches that focus on
 the prevention and treatment of diseases. It follows that the quality of
 life of university students directly affects their health and educational
 progress. Experimental Methodology: Socioeconomic, lifestyle (LS), and
 sense of coherence (SOC) questionnaires were administered to college
 students from three different areas. The results were analyzed for
 normality and homogeneity, followed by ANOVA variance analysis and Dunn
 and Tukey post hoc test for multiple comparisons. Spearman's
 correlation coefficient evaluated the correlation between lifestyle and
 sense of coherence; p values &lt; 0.05 were considered statistically
 significant.  Results: The correlation between LS and SOC was
 higher among males and higher among Medical and Human sciences students
 compared to Exact sciences. Medical students' scores were higher than
 Applied sciences and Human sciences students on the LS questionnaire.
 Exact science students' scores on the SOC questionnaire were higher
 than Human sciences students. In the LS areas related to alcohol intake,
 sleeping quality, and behavior, there were no differences between the
 areas. However, women scored better in the nutrition domain and alcohol
 intake. The SOC was also higher in men compared to women. 
 Conclusion: The results obtained demonstrate in an unprecedented way in
 the literature that the correlation between the LS and SOC of college
 students varies according to gender and areas of knowledge, reflecting the
 importance of actions on improving students' quality of life and
 enabling better academic performance.
description: Data gathering The researchers invited the students to answer an
 online form - through <em>Google Forms</em> virtual platform -
 containing the questionnaires: sociodemographic information, FANTASTIC
 questionnaire on Lifestyle, and a questionnaire on Sense of Coherence. The
 researchers clearly explained the research objectives and collection
 procedures on the home page, and the participants were given the Free and
 Informed Consent Form. The data
 gathered in the online form were transferred to a spreadsheet in
 <em>Microsoft Excel</em>. The results were filtered,
 classified, and treated in order to be in line with the desired
 statistical analysis and could feed the statistical programs
 used. Statistical
 analysis The statistical analyses
 were performed by the JASP statistical <em>software</em>, and
 part of the graphics by the SPSS <em>software</em>. First, the
 researchers submitted the results to normality (Shapiro Wilk) and
 homogeneity (Levene test) analysis. Next, the normal homogeneous data were
 submitted to the ANOVA analysis of variance and Kruskal Wallis
 non-parametric test, followed by Dunn's post hoc test of multiple
 comparisons and Tukey's correction. Spearman's correlation coefficient evaluated
 the correlation between Lifestyle and Sense of Coherence by determining
 the value of R. Values of p &lt; 0.05 were considered statistically
 significant. The normality of data
 was checked by the Shapiro-Wilk test, and since the distribution was not
 normal, analyses were performed as described below: 
 Descriptive
 results are presented by the median and interquartile ranges. 
 The comparisons between the study variables in HA,
 ESA and HM (age, BMI, lifestyle, sense of coherence and domains of the
 questionnaires) and by gender (Lifestyle and Sense of Coherence) were
 performed by the Mann-Whitney test.  The domains of the
 questionnaires in each group (HA, ESA, and HM) were compared by analyzing
 repeated measures, Friedman test, and the Post Hoc by Dunn's multiple
 comparisons test.  
 The comparisons between lifestyle and Sense
 of Coherence among students in each of the selected courses were performed
 by analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test and Post Hoc
 by Dunn's multiple comparisons test.  The correlations
 between the profile of lifestyle and sense of coherence of students in
 each area of knowledge and by gender were performed by Spearman's
 correlation coefficient.  
 The significance index adopted in all analyses was 5% (p ≤ 0.05).