IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v71y2010i11p1981-1988.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do self-perceived health changes predict longevity?

Author

Listed:
  • Erdogan-Ciftci, Esen
  • van Doorslaer, Eddy
  • Bago d'Uva, Teresa
  • van Lenthe, Frank

Abstract

Researchers can rely either on retrospectively reported or on prospectively measured health changes to identify and quantify recent changes in respondents' health status. The two methods typically do not provide the same answers. We compare the validity of prospective versus retrospective measures of health changes by investigating their predictive power for subsequent mortality. Data from a cohort study conducted in the Netherlands are used to compare the ability of changes in self-assessed health (SAH) - either reported retrospectively or measured prospectively in three waves (1991, 1993 and 1995) - to predict survival until 2004. We examine the relationship between health changes and mortality with a proportional hazard models controlling for individual unobserved heterogeneity, with and without control for pre-existing chronic conditions and the onset of new chronic diseases. For a high proportion of reports (39.8%), prospectively measured health changes in SAH do not concur with retrospectively reported health changes. Our results show that both measures of health changes are predictive of mortality in the model controlling for levels of SAH and socioeconomic characteristics only. Controlling for SAH, prior presence of chronic conditions, the onset of new conditions and unobserved characteristics, we find that prospectively reported health changes still predict longevity, whereas retrospective changes do not. These results suggest that the collection of longitudinal information on health changes has advantages over the - easier and cheaper - option of retrospective collection of the same information.

Suggested Citation

  • Erdogan-Ciftci, Esen & van Doorslaer, Eddy & Bago d'Uva, Teresa & van Lenthe, Frank, 2010. "Do self-perceived health changes predict longevity?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(11), pages 1981-1988, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:11:p:1981-1988
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(10)00649-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. van Doorslaer, Eddy & Gerdtham, Ulf-G., 2003. "Does inequality in self-assessed health predict inequality in survival by income? Evidence from Swedish data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(9), pages 1621-1629, November.
    2. Roberto G. Gutierrez, 2002. "Parametric frailty and shared frailty survival models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 2(1), pages 22-44, February.
    3. Stephen Wu, 2003. "The Effects of Health Events on the Economic Status of Married Couples," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(1).
    4. James P. Smith, 2007. "The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Health over the Life-Course," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(4).
    5. Marcel Kerkhofs & Maarten Lindeboom, 1995. "Subjective health measures and state dependent reporting errors," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 4(3), pages 221-235, May.
    6. Mackenbach, J.P. & van de Mheen, H. & Stronks, K., 1994. "A prospective cohort study investigating the explanation of socio-economic inequalities in health in the Netherlands," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 299-308, January.
    7. Teresa Bago d'Uva & Eddy Van Doorslaer & Maarten Lindeboom & Owen O'Donnell, 2008. "Does reporting heterogeneity bias the measurement of health disparities?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 351-375, March.
    8. James P. Smith, 1999. "Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation between Health and Economic Status," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 145-166, Spring.
    9. Lindeboom, Maarten & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2004. "Cut-point shift and index shift in self-reported health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1083-1099, November.
    10. van Doorslaer, Eddy & Wagstaff, Adam & van der Burg, Hattem & Christiansen, Terkel & De Graeve, Diana & Duchesne, Inge & Gerdtham, Ulf-G & Gerfin, Michael & Geurts, Jose & Gross, Lorna, 2000. "Equity in the delivery of health care in Europe and the US," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 553-583, September.
    11. Deeg, Dorly J. H. & van Zonneveld, Robert J. & van der Maas, Paul J. & Habbema, J. Dik F., 1989. "Medical and social predictors of longevity in the elderly: Total predictive value and interdependence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1271-1280, January.
    12. van de Mheen, H. & Stronks, K. & Schrijvers, C. T. M. & Mackenbach, J. P., 1999. "The influence of adult ill health on occupational class mobility and mobility out of and into employment in The Netherlands," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 509-518, August.
    13. Peter Adams & Michael D. Hurd & Daniel L. McFadden & Angela Merrill & Tiago Ribeiro, 2004. "Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise? Tests for Direct Causal Paths between Health and Socioeconomic Status," NBER Chapters, in: Perspectives on the Economics of Aging, pages 415-526, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Beni­tez-Silva, Hugo & Ni, Huan, 2008. "Health status and health dynamics in an empirical model of expected longevity," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 564-584, May.
    15. Huisman, Martijn & Deeg, Dorly J.H., 2010. "A commentary on Marja Jylhä's "What is self-rated health and why does it predict mortality? Towards a unified conceptual model"(69:3, 2009, 307-316)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 652-654, March.
    16. Kenneth F. Ferraro & Jessica A. Kelley-Moore, 2001. "Self-Rated Health and Mortality Among Black and White Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 56(4), pages 195-205.
    17. Johannes Schwarze & Hanfried H. Andersen & Silke Anger, 2000. "Self-Rated Health and Changes in Self-Rated Health as Predictors of Mortality: First Evidence from German Panel Data," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 203, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Eddy van Doorslaer & Xander Koolman & Andrew M. Jones, 2004. "Explaining income‐related inequalities in doctor utilisation in Europe," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(7), pages 629-647, July.
    19. William F. Bassett & Robin L. Lumsdaine, 2001. "Probability Limits: Are Subjective Assessments Adequately Accurate?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(2), pages 327-363.
    20. Adam Wagstaff & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2000. "Measuring and Testing for Inequity in the Delivery of Health Care," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 35(4), pages 716-733.
    21. John Bound, 1991. "Self-Reported Versus Objective Measures of Health in Retirement Models," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 26(1), pages 106-138.
    22. Silvia Balia & Andrew M. Jones, 2007. "Unravelling the influence of smoking initiation and cessation on premature mortality using a common latent factor model," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 07/06, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Leonie Sundmacher, 2012. "The effect of health shocks on smoking and obesity," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 13(4), pages 451-460, August.
    2. James Banks & James P. Smith, 2012. "International Comparisons in Health Economics: Evidence from Aging Studies," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 57-81, July.
    3. Ole Fredrik Andorsen & Luai Awad Ahmed & Nina Emaus & Elise Klouman, 2017. "A prospective cohort study on risk factors of musculoskeletal complaints (pain and/or stiffness) in a general population. The Tromsø study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Owen O'Donnell & Eddy Van Doorslaer & Tom Van Ourti, 2013. "Health and Inequality," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-170/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    2. Costa-Font, Joan & Hernández-Quevedo, Cristina, 2012. "Measuring inequalities in health: What do we know? What do we need to know?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(2), pages 195-206.
    3. Erdogan Ciftci E & Bago d'Uva T & van Doorslaer E & van Lenthe J, 2009. "Self-perceived health and longevity: do dynamics matter?," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/31, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    4. Teresa Bago d'Uva & Eddy Van Doorslaer & Maarten Lindeboom & Owen O'Donnell, 2008. "Does reporting heterogeneity bias the measurement of health disparities?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 351-375, March.
    5. Beni­tez-Silva, Hugo & Ni, Huan, 2008. "Health status and health dynamics in an empirical model of expected longevity," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 564-584, May.
    6. Andrew M. Jones & Eddy Van Doorslaer & Teresa Bago D’Uva & Silvia Balia & Lynn Gambin & Cristina Hernández Quevedo & Xander Koolman & Nigel Rice, 2006. "Health and Wealth: Empirical Findings and Political Consequences," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(s1), pages 93-112, May.
    7. Mayu Fujii & Takashi Oshio & Satoshi Shimizutani, 2014. "Self-rated Health Status of Japanese and Europeans in Later Life: Evidence from JSTAR and SHARE," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 65(4), pages 483-498, December.
    8. Currie, Alison & Shields, Michael A. & Price, Stephen Wheatley, 2007. "The child health/family income gradient: Evidence from England," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 213-232, March.
    9. Laudicella, Mauro & Cookson, Richard & Jones, Andrew M. & Rice, Nigel, 2009. "Health care deprivation profiles in the measurement of inequality and inequity: An application to GP fundholding in the English NHS," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1048-1061, December.
    10. Johnston, David W. & Propper, Carol & Shields, Michael A., 2009. "Comparing subjective and objective measures of health: Evidence from hypertension for the income/health gradient," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 540-552, May.
    11. Hernández-Quevedo, Cristina & Jones, Andrew M. & Rice, Nigel, 2008. "Persistence in health limitations: A European comparative analysis," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1472-1488, December.
    12. Teresa Bago d'Uva & Maarten Lindeboom & Owen O'Donnell & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2011. "Education‐related inequity in healthcare with heterogeneous reporting of health," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 174(3), pages 639-664, July.
    13. Oscar Erixson, 2017. "Health responses to a wealth shock: evidence from a Swedish tax reform," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(4), pages 1281-1336, October.
    14. Maite Blázquez Cuesta & Elena Cottini & Herrarte, A. (Ainhoa), 2012. "GINI DP 39: Socioeconomic Gradient in Health: How Important is Material Deprivation?," GINI Discussion Papers 39, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    15. Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, Jose Alberto, 2015. "Health status and the allocation of time: Cross-country evidence from Europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 188-203.
    16. Sarah Brown & Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2010. "Reservation wages, labour market participation and health," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 173(3), pages 501-529, July.
    17. Au, N. & Johnston, D. W., 2013. "An econometric analysis of self-assessed health: what does it mean and what is it hiding?," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 13/31, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    18. Haan, Peter & Myck, Michal, 2009. "Dynamics of health and labor market risks," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1116-1125, December.
    19. Paul Contoyannis & Andrew M. Jones & Nigel Rice, 2004. "The dynamics of health in the British Household Panel Survey," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(4), pages 473-503.
    20. Michael Lokshin & Martin Ravallion, 2008. "Testing for an economic gradient in health status using subjective data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(11), pages 1237-1259, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:11:p:1981-1988. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.