This study investigated the prevalence and clustering patterns of multiple health-risk behaviors and their associations with non-communicable diseases among Chinese adults in Hong Kong. A large sample survey was conducted in all 18 districts of Hong Kong between 21 June and 31 August 2021. A total of 5737 adults completed the survey. Overall, 4605 (80.3%) had at least one health-risk behavior and 2696 (47.0%) had two or more health-risk behaviors. Multiple health-risk behaviors were more prevalent among men. The prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption among Hong Kong Chinese women was considerably lower than in most Western countries. In contrast to previous findings, this study revealed that a high proportion of adults with high educational attainment or household income had multiple health-risk behaviors. In addition, this study revealed that the health-risk behaviors in Chinese adults co-occurred in clusters, with smoking and alcohol consumption co-occurring with other health-risk behaviors. Those who smoked or consumed alcohol had the highest proportion of multiple health-risk behaviors and the highest proportion of non-communicable diseases. The findings of this study add further evidence that health-risk behaviors co-occur in clusters and can contribute to non-communicable diseases.
Keywords: drinking alcohol; multiple health-risk behaviors; non-communicable diseases; physical inactivity; smoking; unhealthy diet.