An Examination of Self-Rated Health Among African-American Men.
Self-rated health is a concept that has been linked to objective health outcomes but has not received much attention with regard to African-American men. The purpose of this study is to examine the relation of multiple factors (sociodemographic, health behaviors, personal health measures, and personality traits) with self-rated health in a sample of African-American men. The role personality plays in self-rated health in combination with other variables among African-American males has not thoroughly been explored. One hundred and seventy African-American men, ages 30-70 years old, were recruited for this study and completed a questionnaire assessing self-rated health, sociodemographics, health behaviors, personal health measures, and personality traits. Block-wise regression modeling was employed. The blocks were sociodemographics, health behaviors, personal health measures, and personality traits. Variables significantly associated with self-rated health in block-wise regression analyses at P < .05 (household income, BMI, number of health conditions, and neuroticism) were entered into the final multiple logistic regression model. Being obese was associated with greater odds of poor/fair self-rated health compared to being normal weight (OR = 9.02, 95 % CI 2.85-28.51, P < .001). Compared to reporting no health conditions, having more than one health condition was associated with greater odds of reporting poor/fair self-rated health (OR = 4.82, 95 % CI 1.18-19.69, P = .029). This study shows that existing medical conditions are important determinants of self-rated health among African-American men.
College of Medicine, Howard University, 2041 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20060, USA. t_r_taylor@howard.edu.|Department of Psychology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA. t_r_taylor@howard.edu.
Teletia R
TR
Taylor
Department of Psychology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA.
Alana
A
Mohammed
Department of Psychology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA.
Jules P
JP
Harrell
Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Biomathematics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
Kepher H
KH
Makambi
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
African-American males; Self-rated health