title: Impact of economic crisis and other demographic and socio-economic factors on self-rated health in Greece.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Financial crisis and worsened socio-economic conditions are associated with greater morbidity, less utilization of health services and deteriorated population's health status. The aim of the present study was to investigate the determinants of self-rated health in Greece.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two national cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2006 and 2011 were combined, and their data were pooled giving information for 10 572 individuals. The sample in both studies was random and stratified by gender, age, degree of urbanization and geographic region. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the impact of several factors on self-rated health.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Poor self-rated health was most common in older people, unemployed, pensioners, housewives and those suffering from chronic disease. Men, individuals with higher education and those with higher income have higher probability to report better self-rated health. Furthermore, the probability of reporting poor self-rated health is higher at times of economic crisis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings confirm the association of self-rated health with economic crisis and certain demographic and socio-economic factors. Given that the economic recession in Greece deepens, immediate and effective actions targeting health inequalities and improvements in health status are deemed necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Economics, National School of Public Health, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zavras
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tsiantou
authors.forename: Elpida
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pavi
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mylona
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kyriopoulos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004467:Economics; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult