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The Clustering of Lifestyle Risk Factors in the Serbian Adult Population and Association with Self-Rated Health Cover

The Clustering of Lifestyle Risk Factors in the Serbian Adult Population and Association with Self-Rated Health

Open Access
|Dec 2025

Abstract

Introduction

Our objective was to identify clusters of lifestyle risk factors among Serbian adults and assess associations with socio-demographic characteristics and self-rated health.

Methods

The sample included 7,885 adults aged 18 and over from the 2019 Serbian National Health Survey, who provided information on all four lifestyle risk factors (smoking, physical inactivity, low fruit and vegetable intake and risky drinking). The Two-Step Cluster Analysis was used to identify different health-related lifestyle clusters. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association of obtained clusters with socio-demographic characteristics and self-rated health.

Results

Five distinct clusters of lifestyle risk factors were identified: Healthy lifestyle (cluster 1), Low fruit and vegetable intake (cluster 2), Physical inactivity (cluster 3), Smoking and other risk factors (cluster 4), Risky drinking and other risk factors (cluster 5). Multi-risk groups (cluster 4, cluster 5) exhibit specific socio-demographic characteristics (men, younger adults, living alone, less educated). Adults in unhealthy lifestyle clusters were more likely to report poor self-rated health than adults in the healthy lifestyle cluster.

Conclusions

Individuals who were men, younger, living alone, less educated and those with poor self-reported health were more likely to engage in clusters of lifestyle risk factors and represent high-priority population groups for multiple health behaviour change interventions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2025-0027 | Journal eISSN: 1854-2476 | Journal ISSN: 0351-0026
Language: English
Page range: 208 - 217
Submitted on: May 23, 2025
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Accepted on: Oct 23, 2025
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Published on: Dec 1, 2025
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2025 Nataša Dragnić, Sanja Harhaji, Vesna Mijatović Jovanović, Sonja Čanković, Snežana Ukropina, Ivana Radić, published by National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.