title: Self-rated Health in Middle-aged Women: Associations with Sense of Coherence and Socioeconomic and Health-related Factors.
abstract: This study aimed to describe and analyse self-rated health in relation to sense of coherence and socioeconomic and health-related factors and to explore the associations between self-rated health and these factors in order to identify health resources and health limitations in a group of healthy middle-aged women. Healthy middle-aged women from a defined geographical area in Southern Sweden ( n =577) answered a postal survey with the sense of coherence scale and questions about socioeconomic and health-related conditions. The results showed that very good/rather good self-rated health was associated with high sense of coherence and good economic situation, and these factors can be seen as a health resource. Poor self-rated health was most strongly associated with perceived symptoms of tension, weak sense of coherence, treatment for depression, treatment for chronic disease, and difficult economic situation, and these factors can be seen as health limitations. In conclusion, only 29% of the women rated their health as very good and 41% of the women had symptoms of tension but they were not sick-listed. It is of major public health interest to improve the understanding of self-rated health and to develop health promotion for women and methods to prevent symptoms of tension and sick-listing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy University of Gothenburg Lund.
authors.forename: Carita
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hååkansson
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Svartvik
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lidfeldt
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nerbrand
authors.forename: Gööran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Samsioe
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scherstéén
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Nilsson