The Subjective Health Complaints Inventory: a useful instrument to identify various aspects of health and ability to cope in older people?
OBJECTIVE
The aims were to investigate the factor structure of the Subjective Health Complaints Inventory (SHC) in a population of 75 years and above and to identify whether somatic, psychosocial, and coping factors were associated with the SHC factors.


METHODS
Data from 242 elderly persons were analyzed. The measures were: the SHC Inventory, Sense of Coherence, Social Provision Scale, Self-Rated Health, General Health Questionnaire, Clinical Dementia Rating, Reported Illness, Barthel ADL Index, sex, age, and education.


RESULTS
The factor analysis resulted in four subgroups: musculoskeletal pain (15% of variance), gastrointestinal problems (12% of variance), respiratory/allergy complaints (11% of variance), and pseudoneurology (11% of variance). The occurrence of complaints was 76% for musculoskeletal complaints, 51% for gastrointestinal complaints, 30% for flu, 43% for allergy, and 93% for pseudoneurology. Self-rated health and reported illness were significantly associated with musculoskeletal complaints (15% of variance), impairment in activities of daily living (ADL) with gastrointestinal complaints (3% of variance), and finally sense of coherence, self-rated health, and psychological distress were associated with pseudoneurology (32% of variance). No variables were associated with respiratory/allergy complaints.


CONCLUSIONS
This study supports the stability of the SHC's factor structure. The low occurrence of health complaints could possibly be due to survival effects, or that old people to a greater extent than younger people compare themselves with aged peers. The subscales focusing on somatic symptoms were explained by reported illnesses and functional impairments to a limited degree only. The pseudoneurology subscale score was associated with psychological measures, particularly ability to cope.
Thygesen
Elin
E
Faculty of Health and Sport, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. elin.thygesen@uia.no
Lindstrom
Torill Christine
TC
Saevareid
Hans Inge
HI
Engedal
Knut
K
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D012649:Self Concept