Key elements composing self-rated health in older adults: a comparative study of 11 European countries

Abstract

Self-rated health (SRH) is a multidimensional measure, predictive of morbidity and mortality. Comparative studies of determinants, however, are rare due to a lack of comparable cross-national data. This paper contributes towards filling in this gap, using data for persons aged 50 or higher in 11 European countries from the SHARE study (2004). The analysis aims at identifying key elements composing SRH using multinomial logistic regression models. In addition, the homogeneity of associations across populations is assessed. The findings indicate that education, depression, chronic conditions, mobility difficulties, somatic symptoms and levels of physical activity constitute important components of SRH; ADLs and obesity, on the other hand, are not significant and IADLs are important only in a few countries. All these associations point to the expected direction and are homogeneous across countries. However, demographic factors, age and gender, though significant in many countries have divergent associations. Effects of smoking also differentiate between southern and northern Europe.

Later life health in Europe: how important are country level influences?

“…Most studies of international differences in health within Europe consistently report between-country differences (Minicuci et al 2004;Navarro and Shi 2001;Olsen and Dahl 2007;Verropoulou 2009). Considering the demographic ageing of European populations, the objective of this study was to investigate the extent and pattern of country level variation in later life health, as well as to empirically compare five explanatory macrolevel drivers of this variation.…”

“…However, differences between European countries in the health of their older populations have also been widely reported and seem consistent regardless of the health outcome analysed (Eikemo et al 2008;Karlsson et al 2010;Mackenbach et al 2008;Minicuci et al 2004;Olsen and Dahl 2007;Verropoulou 2009). In general, these results show poorer health outcomes for older people in Eastern and Southern compared to Northern and Western regions (Minicuci et al 2004;Ploubidis and Grundy 2009;van den Brink et al 2003;Minicuci et al 2003).…”

Self-rated health, multimorbidity and depression in older adults: proposal and evaluation of a simple conceptual model

“…Además, se trata de una medición comparable incluso entre países (47,48) o grupos étnicos (49), aunque debe tomarse con reservas en población con padecimientos específicos, como la enfermedad de Alzheimer (50), y cuando se contemplan otras variables, como la fragilidad o el estatus cognitivo (51), las cuales han demostrado ser relevantes en adultos mayores.…”

A simple measure with complex determinants: investigation of the correlates of self-rated health in older men and women from three continents

“…Some studies have also identified a role for lifestyle factors, for example smoking [12], although these relationships differ between cultures [10]. Studies comparing respondents from widely differing cultural backgrounds, for example Anglo-Americans or Europeans versus Asians, have been limited to comparisons of cultural groups within Western nations [13], and these studies taken together offer no consensus about the factors that may account for different responding patterns in different countries.…”