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General subjective health status or age-related subjective health status: does it make a difference?

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  • Baron-Epel, Orna
  • Kaplan, Giora

Abstract

This study examines the agreement between two subjective health measures, a general question on subjective health and an age-related question on subjective health. The study identifies specific groups differing in their answer to the two questions. These measures are used frequently in health-related studies where a short measure is needed to estimate health. Therefore, it is important to understand how the population estimates its health. The study based on 793 telephone interviews shows that among respondents aged 65-75 with no reported diseases and those with less than 12 years of education with no reported diseases, the agreement between the two questions was poor. These two groups reported better health when they were asked to compare their health to people of their age and sex. Excellent agreement between the two questions was reported in those aged 55-64 with no diseases. The respondents having more years of education reported better health than the less educated but only when using the age-related subjective health measure. These findings demand caution when using different wordings in questions on subjective health in non-homogeneous populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Baron-Epel, Orna & Kaplan, Giora, 2001. "General subjective health status or age-related subjective health status: does it make a difference?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(10), pages 1373-1381, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:53:y:2001:i:10:p:1373-1381
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    Cited by:

    1. Katie Bates & Tiziana Leone & Rula Ghandour & Suzan Mitwalli & Shiraz Nasr & Ernestina Coast & Rita Giacaman, 2017. "Women’s health in the occupied Palestinian territories: Contextual influences on subjective and objective health measures," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Aline Désesquelles, 2012. "Self-Rated Health of French prison inmates : measurement and comparison with other health indicators," Working Papers 178, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED).
    3. Natalia Golini & Viviana Egidi, 2016. "The Latent Dimensions of Poor Self-Rated Health: How Chronic Diseases, Functional and Emotional Dimensions Interact Influencing Self-Rated Health in Italian Elderly," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 321-339, August.
    4. Alison Reynolds & Claire E. Altman, 2018. "Subjective Health Assessments Among Older Adults in Mexico," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(5), pages 825-850, October.
    5. Jingyue Zhang & Shicun Xu & Nan Lu, 2019. "Community-Based Cognitive Social Capital and Self-Rated Health among Older Chinese Adults: The Moderating Effects of Education," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-11, July.
    6. Yuval Paldi & Daniel S. Moran & Orna Baron-Epel & Shiran Bord & Riki Tesler, 2021. "Ethnic Disparities in Social Capital and Health among Jewish and Arab Participants in the Israeli Mamanet Cachibol League," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-14, January.
    7. Neil J. Buckley & Frank T. Denton & A. Leslie Robb & Byron G. Spencer, 2006. "Socio-economic Influences on the Health of Older Canadians: Estimates Based on Two Longitudinal Surveys," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 32(1), pages 59-84, March.
    8. Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2009. "Ill-health as a household norm: Evidence from other people's health problems," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 251-259, January.
    9. Baron-Epel, Orna & Kaplan, Giora & Haviv-Messika, Amalia & Tarabeia, Jalal & Green, Manfred S. & Nitzan Kaluski, Dorit, 2005. "Self-reported health as a cultural health determinant in Arab and Jewish Israelis: MABAT--National Health and Nutrition Survey 1999-2001," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 1256-1266, September.
    10. Gil, Joan & Mora, Toni, 2011. "The determinants of misreporting weight and height: The role of social norms," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 78-91, January.
    11. repec:dau:papers:123456789/423 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7004 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Ania Filus & Doerte U. Junghaenel & Stefan Schneider & Joan E. Broderick & Arthur A. Stone, 2020. "Age Effects of Frames of Reference in Self-Reports of Health, Well-Being, Fatigue and Pain," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(1), pages 35-54, March.
    14. Pieniak, Zuzanna & Verbeke, Wim & Olsen, Svein Ottar & Hansen, Karina Birch & Brunsø, Karen, 2010. "Health-related attitudes as a basis for segmenting European fish consumers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 448-455, October.
    15. Cleon Tsimbos, 2010. "An assessment of socio-economic inequalities in health among elderly in Greece, Italy and Spain," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 55(1), pages 5-15, February.
    16. Doerte U. Junghaenel & Joan E. Broderick & Stefan Schneider & Marcella May & Alicia Bolton & Kelly P. McCarrier & Larissa M. Stassek & Sarah C. Keithly & Arthur A. Stone, 2018. "Frames of Reference in Self-Reports of Health, Well-Being, Fatigue, and Pain: a Qualitative Examination," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(3), pages 585-601, September.
    17. Sharifah Haron & Deanna Sharpe & Jariah Masud & Mohamed Abdel-Ghany, 2010. "Health Divide: Economic and Demographic Factors Associated with Self-Reported Health Among Older Malaysians," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 328-337, September.

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