[Subjective health as predictor for mortality].
In the last two decades self-rated health has received growing interest in international studies because of its consistent prediction for mortality. However, for Germany there are no studies confirming a long-term effect independent from objective health indicators in comparison of different follow-up. On the basis of the Life-Expectancy-Study (1984/86 - 1998) from the Federal Institute for Population Research it was possible to analyze the association between subjective health and mortality in relation to the length of observation. A stronger correlation between bad self-rated health and objective health status could be indicated because of a better prediction for mortality in a short-term follow-up. The evidence of a significant effect between self-rated health and mortality in the long-term follow-up not including the deaths from the short-term follow-up indicates that the mechanisms between subjective health and mortality are more complex than those between objective health status and death.
Müters
S
S
Technische Universität Berlin, Institut für Gesundheitswissenschaften. mueters@ifg.tu-berlin.de
Lampert
T
T
Maschewsky-Schneider
U
U
D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016019:Survival Analysis