title: Determinants of Self-Rated Health in Tehran, from Individual Characteristics towards Community-Level Attributes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is generally believed that the attributes of shared environment affect health of residents beyond the individual risk factors. This study investigates some individual and neighborhood characteristics that may affect self-rated health (SRH) in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questions were asked about the social capital, economic status and SRH of 1,982 citizens from 200 randomly selected locations in Tehran. The neighborhood characteristics were assessed by an observational checklist. A multilevel model was designed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SRH was significantly different between neighborhoods (P-value < 0.001) and between economic groups (P-value < 0.001). At the individual level, social capital (SC) and being married had a positive association with SRH, while age, being female and bad economic statuses were negatively associated with SRH. At the neighborhood level, neighborhoods with higher average education were positively association with SRH, and living in neighborhoods under construction had a negative association with SRH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings highlight the importance of shared social and physical environment, as well as individual characteristics on health, although the mechanisms may still be controversial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mohamadk@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ghalichi
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Saharnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nedjat
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Majdzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pournik
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mohammad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055361:Multilevel Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult