What does self rated health measure? Results from the British Whitehall II and French Gazel cohort studies.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the determinants of self rated health (SRH) in men and women in the British Whitehall II study and the French Gazel cohort study.


METHODS
The cross sectional analyses reported in this paper use data from wave 1 of the Whitehall II study (1985-88) and wave 2 of the Gazel study (1990). Determinants were either self reported or obtained through medical screening and employer's records. The Whitehall II study is based on 20 civil service departments located in London. The Gazel study is based on employees of France's national gas and electricity company (EDF-GDF). SRH data were available on 6889 men and 3403 women in Whitehall II and 13 008 men and 4688 women in Gazel.


RESULTS
Correlation analysis was used to identify determinants of SRH from 35 measures in Whitehall II and 33 in Gazel. Stepwise multiple regressions identified five determinants (symptom score, sickness absence, longstanding illness, minor psychiatric morbidity, number of recurring health problems) in Whitehall II, explaining 34.7% of the variance in SRH. In Gazel, four measures (physical tiredness, number of health problems in the past year, physical mobility, number of prescription drugs used) explained 41.4% of the variance in SRH.


CONCLUSIONS
Measures of mental and physical health status contribute most to the SRH construct. The part played by age, early life factors, family history, sociodemographic variables, psychosocial factors, and health behaviours in these two occupational cohorts is modest.
INSERM, U687, HNSM, 14 rue du Val d'Osne, 94415 Saint-Maurice Cédex, France. Archana.Singh-Manoux@st-maurice.inserm.fr
Archana
A
Singh-Manoux
Pekka
P
Martikainen
Jane
J
Ferrie
Marie
M
Zins
Michael
M
Marmot
Marcel
M
Goldberg
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D016272:Occupational Health; D012044:Regression Analysis