The relationship between self-rated health and objective health status: a population-based study
By Shunquan Wu, Rui Wang, Yanfang Zhao, Xiu-qiang Ma, Mei-jing Wu, Xiaoyan Yan, Jia He. BMC Public Health, 2013
723 citations recorded by the source corpus.
BackgroundSelf-rated health (SRH), a subjective assessment of health status, is extensively used in the public health field. However, whether SRH can reflect the objective health status is still debatable. We aim to reveal the relationship between SRH and objective health status in the general population.MethodsWe assessed the relationship between SRH and objective health status by examining the prevalence of diseases, laboratory parameters, and some health-related factors in different SRH groups. Data were collected from 18,000 residents randomly sampled from the general population in five cities of China (3,600 in each city). SRH was assessed by a single-item health measure with five options: “very good,” “good,” “fair,” “bad,” and “very bad.” The differences in prevalence of diseases, laboratory parameters, and health-related factors between the “healthy” (very good plus good), “relatively healthy” (fair), and “unhealthy” (bad plus very bad) groups were examined. The odds ratios (ORs) referenced by the healthy group were calculated using logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of all diseases was associated with poorer SRH. The tendency was more prominent in cardio-cerebral vascular diseases, visual impairment, and mental illnesses with larger ORs. Residents with abnormalities in laboratory parameters tended to have poorer SRH, with ORs ranging from 1.62 (for triglyceride) to 3.48 (for hemoglobin among men) in a comparison of the unhealthy and healthy groups. Most of the health-related factors regarded as risks were associated with poorer SRH. Among them, life and work pressure, poor spiritual status, and poor quality of interpersonal relationships were the most significant factors.ConclusionsSRH is consistent with objective health status and can serve as a global measure of health status in the general population.
Subfields: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, General Health Professions, Health
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/63c376a353d688c2b3d5c69c6e9631d947b26b71
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In Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
In General Health Professions
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Citations in the corpus
- Associations among relational values, support, health, and well‐being across the adult lifespan (2017, background): “The use of a subjective health measure is particularly problematic as it has been shown to be biased by psychological processes and assesses things beyond objective health status (Jylhä, 2009; Wu et al., 2013).”
- Health and Mental Health Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement (2018, neutral): “Self-rated health is considered a valid measure of overall health and mental health, as it strongly predicts serious, chronic conditions, disability, health service utilization, mental illnesses, and mortality (Goldstein, Siegel, and Boyer 1984; Burström and Fredlund 2001; Wu et al. 2013).”