Afrin Sadia, Salma Nahid, Yeasmin Sabina, Promy Sabah Tarin, Salam Samira, Ali Majid Khan Majahar
Department of Statistics & Data Science, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh.
School of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
J Health Popul Nutr. 2024 Dec 24;43(1):225. doi: 10.1186/s41043-024-00692-3.
Foodborne illness is a significant public health concern, particularly in developing countries like Bangladesh. Young adults, aged 18-26 (including undergraduates and recent graduates), are especially vulnerable to the onset of unhealthy eating habits and nutritional imbalances as they begin living independently, often away from their families. This research aims to identify the risk factors associated with the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to safe food handling among residential university students. By understanding these factors, the study seeks to inform strategies to improve food safety behaviors in this at-risk population.
A standardized questionnaire was administered through a simple random sampling survey of 250 students at Jahangirnagar University to collect primary data on food safety practices, attitudes, and knowledge. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used to examine associations between the responses and predictor variables. To further assess the statistical significance and strength of these relationships, logistic regression analyses were performed. These methods provided a comprehensive evaluation of the factors influencing safe food handling behaviors among the students.
The survey found that most participants were from rural areas (44.4%) and female students (65.2%). Multicollinearity issues were not detected, and predictor factors explained 53.8% (Nagelkerke R-square: 0.538) of the variation in food poisoning incidents. Overall, 57.6% of students reported being prone to food poisoning. Risk factors for food poisoning included being in the third year of study (OR: 3.493, CI: 0.394-30.972), consuming food during a blackout based on its appearance or scent (OR: 4.824, CI: 0.690-33.715), and believing food should be refrigerated for five to seven days (OR: 2.309, CI: 0.318-16.778). Conversely, students who stored raw meat or fish on the middle shelf (OR: 0.078, CI: 0.012-0.511) and those who thought leftover food should be kept in the fridge for more than seven days (OR: 0.034, CI: 0.002-0.626) were less likely to experience food poisoning. These findings highlight behaviors that influence foodborne illness risk among students.
This study found that while students in Bangladesh demonstrate a strong understanding of food handling, there has been insufficient focus on food safety education in the country. Based on these findings, the authors recommend enhancing awareness of key food safety risks and integrating this knowledge into both short- and long-term initiatives. To ensure lasting improvements in food safety, sustained and effective interventions are essential. These efforts will accelerate progress toward achieving the sustainable development goals related to public health in Bangladesh.
食源性疾病是一个重大的公共卫生问题，在孟加拉国等发展中国家尤为如此。18至26岁的年轻人（包括本科生和应届毕业生）在开始独立生活、往往远离家人时，特别容易养成不健康的饮食习惯和出现营养失衡。本研究旨在确定与住宿大学生安全食品处理知识、态度和行为相关的风险因素。通过了解这些因素，该研究旨在为改善这一高危人群食品安全行为的策略提供信息。
通过对贾汗吉尔纳加尔大学250名学生进行简单随机抽样调查，发放标准化问卷，以收集有关食品安全行为、态度和知识的原始数据。描述性统计和卡方检验用于检验回答与预测变量之间的关联。为了进一步评估这些关系的统计显著性和强度，进行了逻辑回归分析。这些方法对影响学生安全食品处理行为的因素进行了全面评估。
调查发现，大多数参与者来自农村地区（44.4%），且为女生（65.2%）。未检测到多重共线性问题，预测因素解释了食物中毒事件变异的53.8%（Nagelkerke R方：0.538）。总体而言，57.6%的学生报告容易食物中毒。食物中毒的风险因素包括处于学习的第三年（比值比：3.493，置信区间：0.394 - 30.972）、在停电期间根据食物外观或气味食用食物（比值比：4.824，置信区间：0.690 - 33.715）以及认为食物应冷藏五至七天（比值比：2.309，置信区间：0.318 - 16.778）。相反，将生肉或生鱼存放在中层架子上的学生（比值比：0.078，置信区间：0.012 - 0.511）以及认为剩菜应在冰箱中保存超过七天的学生（比值比：0.034，置信区间：0.002 - 0.626）食物中毒的可能性较小。这些发现突出了影响学生食源性疾病风险的行为。
本研究发现，虽然孟加拉国的学生对食品处理有较强的理解，但该国对食品安全教育的关注不足。基于这些发现，作者建议提高对关键食品安全风险的认识，并将这些知识纳入短期和长期举措。为确保食品安全得到持久改善，持续有效的干预措施至关重要。这些努力将加速孟加拉国在实现与公共卫生相关的可持续发展目标方面取得进展。
