Abstract
Objectives
This study explored gender- and age-specific contributions of explanatory factors to the relationship between self-rated health (SRH) and all-cause mortality.
Methods
We used mortality follow-up data from 1998 and 2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys of South Korea (n = 9,663). Explanatory factors included baseline health status, socioeconomic status, health behaviors, clinical risk factors, psychosocial factors, and family medical history.
Results
The ability of explanatory factors to explain the SRH–mortality relationship differed with age. For those aged 30–64, most excess hazards were explained by all explanatory factors. However, a large part of the mortality differentials by SRH remained unexplained among elderly samples.
Conclusions
A wide range of health-related factors could explain the SRH–mortality association in younger population but not in older population. Factors to explain a large part of mortality differentials by SRH among older population should be identified.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Sung-Cheol Yun, PhD, in Division of Biostatistics, Center for Medical Research and Information and Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, for valuable statistical advice.
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We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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Khang, YH., Kim, H.R. Self-rated health and mortality: gender- and age-specific contributions of explanatory factors in South Korea. Int J Public Health 55, 279–289 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0121-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0121-z