Self-reported health assessments in the 2002 World Health Survey: how do they correlate with education?

Abstract

Objective To assess the value of self-rated health assessments by examining the association between education and self-rated poor health. Methods We used the globally representative population-based sample from the 2002 World Health Survey, composed of 219 713 men and women aged 25 and over in 69 countries, to examine the association between education and self-rated poor health. In a binary regression model with a logit link function, we used self-rated poor health as the binary dependent variable, and age, sex and education as the independent variables. Findings Globally, there was an inverse association between years of schooling and self-rated poor health (odds ratio, OR: 0.929; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.926-0.933). Compared with the individuals in the highest quintile of years of schooling, those in the lowest quintile were twice as likely to report poor health (OR: 2.292; 95% CI: 2.165-2.426). We found a dose-response relationship between quintiles of years of schooling and the ORs for reporting poor health. This association was consistent among men and women; low-, middle-and high-income countries; and regions. Conclusion Our findings suggest that self-reports of health may be useful for epidemiological investigations within countries, even in low-income settings.Une traduction en français de ce résumé figure à la fin de l'article. Al final del artículo se facilita una traducción al español. ‫املقالة.‬ ‫لهذه‬ ‫الكامل‬ ‫النص‬ ‫نهاية‬ ‫يف‬ ‫الخالصة‬ ‫لهذه‬ ‫العربية‬ ‫الرتجمة‬

Educational expansion and the education gradient in health: A hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis

“…First, as self-reported assessments are contingent on social experiences, the validity of the answers can be somewhat questionable, particularly among the lower educated (Subramanian et al, 2010). Nevertheless, several studies have underscored the reliability of self-rated health measurements in a general population sample (Zajacova et al, 2012, e.g.…”

Association between Sleep Duration and Self-Reported Health Status: Findings from the Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Study

“…Total (n = 6,476) ≤ 6 h (n = 415) 7 h (n = 612) 8 h (n = 1,390) 9 h (n = 1,812) 10 h (n = 1,393) ≥ 11 h (n = 854) p value Age, y < 0.001 [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] 844 (13) 43 (10) 65 (11) 182 (13) 219 (12) 186 (13) 149 (18) 529 (8) 38 (9) 44 (7) 85 (6) 125 (7) 125 (9) 112 ( (22) 131 (32) 173 (28) 394 (28) 417 (23) 195 (14) 126 (15) Working hours < 0.001 < 7 h 2,037 (32) 138 (34) 165 (28) 359 (26) 544 (30) 453 (33) 378 (46) 7-8 h 668 (10) 33 (8) 52 (9) 124 (9) 180 (10) 164 (12) 115 (13) (14) 75 (18) 104 (17) 199 (14) 248 (14) 181 (13) 88 (10) Lower/Middle level 830 (13) 79 (19) 84 (14) 201 (14) 253 …”

“…It is recommended as a health indicator by the World Health Organization. [23][24][25] In addition, self-reported health status is strongly associated with morbidity, 26 and it is a strong independent predictor of mortality, 27 not only in the elderly group but also in the middle-aged population. 28 Studies from high-income countries also indicate that too little and too much sleep are associated with chronic health conditions.…”

A Single- vs. Multi-Item Self-Rated Health Status Measure: A 21-Country Study

“…SRH is used in research on various topics, but in particular in longitudinal studies as a predictor of subsequent mortality [1][2][3]; in cross-sectional surveys as the outcome variable in studies on social inequalities in health [4][5][6][7][8]; and in studies on compression of morbidity [9][10][11].…”