TY - JOUR
T1 - Is self-rated health comparable across cultures and genders?
AU - Jylhä, Marja
AU - Guralnik, Jack M.
AU - Ferrucci, Luigi
AU - Jokela, Jukka
AU - Heikkinen, Eino
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - Self-rated health is a frequently used health indicator, but there is little data on its comparability across cultures. We employed samples from Tampere, Finland, and Florence, Italy, of the European Longitudinal Study on Aging to examine the cultural and gender differences in self-rated health. Personal interview data was used and vital status ascertained after 7 years. After adjusting for several health-related variables, we found no substantial difference in self-rated health between genders, although women in Florence were three times and men in Florence four times more likely to report good self-rated health than men in Tampere. The correlational structure of self- rated health was similar in both areas. The significant graded association between self-rated health and mortality in both areas was mostly explained by other health indicators included in a multivariate model. Results suggest that self-rated health is a useful summary of physical health, but it may predict mortality better in men than in women and be sensitive to cultural environment. Therefore, direct gender and cultural comparisons of self-rated health should be made with caution.
AB - Self-rated health is a frequently used health indicator, but there is little data on its comparability across cultures. We employed samples from Tampere, Finland, and Florence, Italy, of the European Longitudinal Study on Aging to examine the cultural and gender differences in self-rated health. Personal interview data was used and vital status ascertained after 7 years. After adjusting for several health-related variables, we found no substantial difference in self-rated health between genders, although women in Florence were three times and men in Florence four times more likely to report good self-rated health than men in Tampere. The correlational structure of self- rated health was similar in both areas. The significant graded association between self-rated health and mortality in both areas was mostly explained by other health indicators included in a multivariate model. Results suggest that self-rated health is a useful summary of physical health, but it may predict mortality better in men than in women and be sensitive to cultural environment. Therefore, direct gender and cultural comparisons of self-rated health should be made with caution.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0031749597&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0031749597&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 9602839
AN - SCOPUS:0031749597
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 53
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 3
ER -