Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality.
BACKGROUND: Studies have reported that the predictive ability of self-rated health (SRH) for mortality varies by sex/gender and socioeconomic group. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this relationship in Japan and explore the potential reasons for differences between the groups. METHODOLOGY/P...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3261899?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819160871529611264 |
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| author | Akihiro Nishi Ichiro Kawachi Kokoro Shirai Hiroshi Hirai Seungwon Jeong Katsunori Kondo |
| author_facet | Akihiro Nishi Ichiro Kawachi Kokoro Shirai Hiroshi Hirai Seungwon Jeong Katsunori Kondo |
| author_sort | Akihiro Nishi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BACKGROUND: Studies have reported that the predictive ability of self-rated health (SRH) for mortality varies by sex/gender and socioeconomic group. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this relationship in Japan and explore the potential reasons for differences between the groups. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The analyses in the study were based on the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study's (AGES) 2003 Cohort Study in Chita Peninsula, Japan, which followed the four-year survival status of 14,668 community-dwelling people who were at least 65 years old at the start of the study. We first examined sex/gender and education-level differences in association with fair/poor SRH. We then estimated the sex/gender- and education-specific hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality associated with lower SRH using Cox models. Control variables, including health behaviors (smoking and drinking), symptoms of depression, and chronic co-morbid conditions, were added to sequential regression models. The results showed men and women reported a similar prevalence of lower SRH. However, lower SRH was a stronger predictor of mortality in men (HR = 2.44 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.14-2.80]) than in women (HR = 1.88 [95% CI: 1.44-2.47]; p for sex/gender interaction = 0.018). The sex/gender difference in the predictive ability of SRH was progressively attenuated with the additional introduction of other co-morbid conditions. The predictive ability among individuals with high school education (HR = 2.39 [95% CI: 1.74-3.30]) was similar to that among individuals with less than a high school education (HR = 2.14 [95% CI: 1.83-2.50]; p for education interaction = 0.549). CONCLUSIONS: The sex/gender difference in the predictive ability of SRH for mortality among this elderly Japanese population may be explained by male/female differences in what goes into an individual's assessment of their SRH, with males apparently weighting depressive symptoms more than females. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0eca948f3ac94d29ad04a1ecbe0aa127 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T17:03:20Z |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-0eca948f3ac94d29ad04a1ecbe0aa1272022-12-21T18:19:17ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0171e3017910.1371/journal.pone.0030179Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality.Akihiro NishiIchiro KawachiKokoro ShiraiHiroshi HiraiSeungwon JeongKatsunori KondoBACKGROUND: Studies have reported that the predictive ability of self-rated health (SRH) for mortality varies by sex/gender and socioeconomic group. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this relationship in Japan and explore the potential reasons for differences between the groups. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The analyses in the study were based on the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study's (AGES) 2003 Cohort Study in Chita Peninsula, Japan, which followed the four-year survival status of 14,668 community-dwelling people who were at least 65 years old at the start of the study. We first examined sex/gender and education-level differences in association with fair/poor SRH. We then estimated the sex/gender- and education-specific hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality associated with lower SRH using Cox models. Control variables, including health behaviors (smoking and drinking), symptoms of depression, and chronic co-morbid conditions, were added to sequential regression models. The results showed men and women reported a similar prevalence of lower SRH. However, lower SRH was a stronger predictor of mortality in men (HR = 2.44 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.14-2.80]) than in women (HR = 1.88 [95% CI: 1.44-2.47]; p for sex/gender interaction = 0.018). The sex/gender difference in the predictive ability of SRH was progressively attenuated with the additional introduction of other co-morbid conditions. The predictive ability among individuals with high school education (HR = 2.39 [95% CI: 1.74-3.30]) was similar to that among individuals with less than a high school education (HR = 2.14 [95% CI: 1.83-2.50]; p for education interaction = 0.549). CONCLUSIONS: The sex/gender difference in the predictive ability of SRH for mortality among this elderly Japanese population may be explained by male/female differences in what goes into an individual's assessment of their SRH, with males apparently weighting depressive symptoms more than females.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3261899?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Akihiro Nishi Ichiro Kawachi Kokoro Shirai Hiroshi Hirai Seungwon Jeong Katsunori Kondo Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality. PLoS ONE |
| title | Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality. |
| title_full | Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality. |
| title_fullStr | Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality. |
| title_short | Sex/gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self-rated health for mortality. |
| title_sort | sex gender and socioeconomic differences in the predictive ability of self rated health for mortality |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3261899?pdf=render |
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