title: Self-rated health and mortality in different occupational classes and income groups in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  People with a lower socioeconomic position have a higher the prevalence of most self-rated health problems. In this article we ask whether this may be attributed to self-rated health not reflecting actual health, understood as mortality, in different socioeconomic groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the study we used data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 1984-86 (HUNT1), in which the county's entire adult population aged 20 years and above were invited to participate. The association between self-rated health and mortality in different occupational classes and income groups was analysed. The analysis corrected for age, chronic disease, functional impairment and lifestyle factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The association between self-rated health and mortality was of the same order of magnitude for the occupational classes and income groups, but persons without work/income and with poor self-rated health stood out. Compared with persons in the highest socioeconomic class, unemployed men had a hazard ratio for death that was three times higher in the follow-up period. For women with no income, the ratio was twice as high. INTERPRETATION Self-rated health and mortality largely conform to the different socioeconomic strata. This supports the perception that socioeconomic differences in health are a reality and represent a significant challenge nationally. Our results also increase the credibility of findings from other studies that use self-reported health in surveys to measure differences and identify the mechanisms that create them.
authors.affiliation: Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap Fakultet for samfunnsvitenskap og teknologiledelse Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet.
authors.forename: Christoffer
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holseter
authors.affiliation: Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap Fakultet for samfunnsvitenskap og teknologiledelse Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet og NTNU Samfunnsforskning.
authors.forename: Joakim Døving
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Dalen
authors.affiliation: HUNT forskningssenter Institutt for samfunnsmedisin Det medisinske fakultet Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet.
authors.forename: Steinar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krokstad
authors.affiliation: Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap Fakultet for samfunnsvitenskap og teknologiledelse Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet.
authors.forename: Terje Andreas
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Eikemo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D009790:Occupations; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D057566:Self Report; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014478:Unemployment