Life Sciences Commons^™

The Investigation Of Risk Factors For Upper Respiratory Infections Among College Students, Romie Barnes

Honors Theses

Upper respiratory tract infections and cold-like illnesses are common sources of morbidity among college students. The emphasis of hand-washing and reducing the dispersal of aerosol droplets by covering coughs and sneezes reduces the spread of the common cold. However, less emphasis is placed on other risk factors for reducing cold-like illness such as: stress level and physical activity (Doyle and Cohens 2009). An increase in stress and a decrease in physical activity are common among college students (Nichol et al 2005). For this reason, the present study analyzed the effects of stress and physical activity on the incidence of upper …