Evaluation of Health Promoting Behaviors and Its Relationship with Mental Health in Elderly Military Veterans in Iran

 One of the effective factors in the healthy living of the elderly is health-promoting behaviors.

 This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health-promoting behaviors and mental health in elderly military veterans in Iran.

 Using available sampling method, this descriptive-analytical study was performed on 280 elderly military veterans over 60 years old referred to a military health center in Urmia, Iran. We used a questionnaire comprising three sections as follows: (1) elderly demographic information; (2) health promoting behaviors; and (3) mental health assessment. The collected data were entered into SPSS software v.20 and analyzed by chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests.

 The results showed that among the health-promoting behaviors, non-consumption of alcohol, controlling blood pressure, and not smoking had the highest frequency, and the injection of influenza vaccine had the lowest frequency. The relationship between health-promoting behaviors and the level of mental health showed that smoking, stress, alcohol consumption, and not exercising had a significant relationship with anxiety and stress (P < 0.05). Also, the individuals who consumed more fruits and vegetables had less stress than those who consume lower amounts of these foods (P < 0.05). Also, people who consumed low-salt, low-fat, and dairy-based foods, controlled their blood pressure regularly and had received the flu vaccine had a better mental health.

 According to the results, a special attention should be paid to these factors in planning to teach health-promoting behaviors to improve health and counseling services in the elderly.