Some correlates of self-rated health for Australian women.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to identify some of the correlates of self-rated health for young to middle-aged Australian women.


METHODS
Regression analyses were based on a 4-year longitudinal study using a random sample of Sydney women 20 to 59 years of age at baseline. Participants were interviewed in 1986/87 and 1990.


RESULTS
Cross-sectional relationships between self-assessed health and other health measures varied significantly by age, although physical health was a common correlate. Sixty-three percent of participants reported a similar rating of health over the 4-year period between the surveys. Changes in self-assessed health were sensitive to chronic disease. Also, participants' self-ratings of health were related to their subsequent chronic disease status.


CONCLUSIONS
Self-rated health reflects a complex process of internalized calculations that encompass both lived experience and knowledge of disease causes and consequences. Women seem to take into consideration a broad range of factors, including lifestyle, vitality, mental attitude, and age, and, if they have a health condition, the chronicity of their disease, duration since diagnosis, and treatment.
Shadbolt
B
B
Epidemiology and Population Health Section, Australian Capital Territory Department of Health and Community Care, Canberra, Australia.
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016387:Women's Health