Development of a General Health Score Based on 12 Objective Metabolic and Lifestyle Items: The Lifestyle and Well-Being Index

Healthy and unhealthy lifestyles are tightly linked to general health and well-being. However, measurements of well-being have failed to include elements of health and easy to interpret information for patients seeking to improve lifestyles. Therefore, this study aimed to create an index for the assessment of general health and well-being along with two cut-off points: the lifestyle and well-being index (LWB-I). This was a cross-sectional analysis of 15,168 individuals. Internally valid multivariate linear models were constructed using key lifestyle features predicting a modified Short Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36) and used to score the LWB-I. Categorization of the LWB-I was based on self-perceived health (SPH) and analyzed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Optimal cut-points identified individuals with poor and excellent SPH. Lifestyle and well-being were adequately accounted for using 12 lifestyle items. SPH groups had increasingly healthier lifestyle features and LWB-I scores; optimal cut-point for poor SPH were scores below 80 points (AUC: 0.80 (0.79, 0.82); sensitivity 75.7%, specificity 72.3%)) and above 86 points for excellent SPH (AUC: 0.67 (0.66, 0.69); sensitivity 61.4%, specificity 63.3%). Lifestyle and well-being were quantitatively scored based on their associations with a general health measure in order to create the LWB-I along with two cut points.

Automated summary

Healthy and unhealthy lifestyles are strongly associated with general health and well-being. The existing measurements of well-being lack elements of health and easily understandable information for patients aiming to improve their lifestyles. This study aimed to develop an index, the Lifestyle and Well-being Index (LWB-I), along with two cut-off points, to assess general health and well-being. The index was based on lifestyle factors and self-perceived health, and was found to effectively categorize individuals with poor and excellent self-perceived health.