EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Self-rated health: a predictor of mortality among the elderly

J.M. Mossey and E. Shapiro

American Journal of Public Health, 1982, vol. 72, issue 8, 800-808

Abstract: Data from the Manitoba Longitudinal Study on Aging (MLSA) were used to test the hypothesis that self-rated health (SRH) is a predictor of mortality independent of "objective health status" (OHS). Subjects were a random sample of non-institutionalized residents of Manitoba aged 65+ in 1971 (n = 3,128). A single item measure of SRH was obtained during a survey conducted in 1971; a baseline measure of OHS was derived from physician and self-reported conditions and health service utilization data. Occurrence and date of death during the years 1971-1977 were known. Analyses of the data revealed that, controlling for OHS, age, sex, life satisfaction, income and urban/rural residence, the risk of early mortality (1971-1973) and late mortality (1974-1977) for persons whose SRH was poor was 2.92 and 2.77 times that of those whose SRH was excellent. This increased risk of death associated with poor self-rated health was greater than that associated with poor OHS, poor life satisfaction, low income and being male. These findings provide empirical support for the long held, but inadequately substantiated, belief that the way a person views his health is importantly related to subsequent health outcomes.

Date: 1982
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (187)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1982:72:8:800-808_7

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1982:72:8:800-808_7