A composite measure of healthy lifestyle and the association with suicidal behaviors in Chinese young people aged 10–24 years: Results from a school-based survey in Zhejiang Province

Objectives Smoking, alcohol drinking, dietary habits, physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration have been examined separately in relation to suicidality. Based on these behaviors, this study aimed to develop a composite measure of a healthy lifestyle, and to explore its associations with suicidal behaviors among Chinese young people aged 10–24 years. Methods Data were obtained from 2022 Zhejiang Youth Risk Behavior Survey, in which 27,059 students aged 10–24 years completed an anonymous questionnaire designed to assess the health behaviors. A healthy lifestyle score was calculated and categorized into favorable, intermediate, and unfavorable lifestyle categories. Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for suicidal behaviors. Results Overall, 21.12% of students followed a favorable lifestyle, 56.67% followed an intermediate lifestyle, and 22.21% followed an unfavorable lifestyle. Compared to unfavorable lifestyle, students with intermediate and favorable lifestyle had lower odds of suicidal ideation, with the OR was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.62–0.72) and 0.40 (0.36–0.45); for suicidal plans, the corresponding OR was 0.61 (0.55–0.67) and 0.37 (0.31–0.44); for suicidal attempts, the corresponding OR was 0.53 (0.45–0.62) and 0.27 (0.20–0.37). Conclusions This study suggested that adherence to healthy lifestyles combining seven modifiable lifestyle factors were significantly associated with the lower odds of suicidal behaviors engagement in Chinese young people.