Self-rated health in Europe and its determinants: Does generation matter?

Isabel Aguilar-Palacio (), Ana Isabel Gil-Lacruz, Raquel Sánchez-Recio and José Rabanaque Mª
Additional contact information
Isabel Aguilar-Palacio: Zaragoza University
Ana Isabel Gil-Lacruz: Zaragoza University
Raquel Sánchez-Recio: IIS Aragon
José Rabanaque Mª: Zaragoza University

International Journal of Public Health, 2018, vol. 63, issue 2, No 9, 223-232

Abstract: Abstract Objectives To analyse the influence of micro- and macro-factors on self-rated health, and the role of generation on this relationship. Methods Cross-sectional study using data from European Health Interview Surveys from 14 European countries. Individuals were divided into four generations (“silent generation”, “baby boomers”, and “generation X” and “Y”). We conducted multilevel analyses for each generation to study the influence of individual and national explanatory variables on self-rated health. Results Age showed an exponential effect in older generations. Education and employment presented the strongest association with low self-rated health, especially in “baby boomers” and women (low education: OR 3.5; 95% CI 3.2–3.9). Tobacco showed a negative effect in younger generations. Overweight and low physical activity were negatively associated with self-rated health regardless of generation. Countries from the Eastern welfare system showed the highest risk of low self-rated health and this association was higher in men for “silent generation” (OR 4.7; 95% CI 3.0–7.6). Conclusions The influence of individual and national factors on self-rated health varies regarding generation. The target generation and the demographic structure of a country should be taken into account to develop more accurate health policies.

Keywords: Self-rated health; Generation; Health policy; Health survey; Welfare system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00038-018-1079-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:spr:ijphth:v:63:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s00038-018-1079-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/00038

DOI: 10.1007/s00038-018-1079-5

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Thomas Kohlmann, Nino Künzli and Andrea Madarasova Geckova

More articles in International Journal of Public Health from Springer, Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().