Cent Eur J Public Health 2008, 16(2):47-53 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3458

Health Attitudes and Behaviour as Predictors of Self-rated Health in Relation to Mortality Patterns (17-year Follow-up in a Polish Elderly Population - Cracow Study)

Beata Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Piotr Brzyski, Marek S. Kopacz
Department of Medical Sociology, Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland

The aim of this 17-year Cracow (Poland) study was to examine and identify the determinants most responsible for the relationship between self-rated health and mortality in non-institutionalized elderly people. Base-line data were collected in a simple random sample of 2,605 Cracow residents, aged 65 years and over. The vital status of all individuals under study was established by monitoring city records. Death certificates were obtained for the deceased and coded according to the underlying cause of death.
Predictors related to self-rated health, developed using the results of principal component analysis, were modelled on three indexes: individual predisposition (to disease based on family history), caring about health in the past, and attitudes toward health.
Cox multivariate analysis confirmed the significant role of self-rated health in the mortality patterns of women (HR = 1.18). Those who cared greatly about health in the past had a lower mortality risk than those who cared poorly (HR = 1.19). In men, a positive attitude towards health remained an independent predictor of mortality (HR = 1.20). Multivariate regression models found self-rated health to be a significant independent predictor of mortality only in women with a low level of individual predisposition (hazard ratio for self-rated health = 1.35) and in those with a positive attitude towards health (hazard ratio for self-rated health = 1.16).

Keywords: predictors of self-rated health, overall mortality, Polish elderly

Received: November 12, 2007; Revised: February 20, 2008; Accepted: February 20, 2008; Published: June 1, 2008  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Tobiasz-Adamczyk B, Brzyski P, Kopacz MS. Health Attitudes and Behaviour as Predictors of Self-rated Health in Relation to Mortality Patterns (17-year Follow-up in a Polish Elderly Population - Cracow Study). Cent Eur J Public Health. 2008;16(2):47-53. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a3458. PubMed PMID: 18661805.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Central Statistical Office. Statistical yearbook of the Republic of Poland. Warsaw: Central Statistical Office; 1987.
    2. Central Statistical Office. Statistical yearbook of the Republic of Poland. Warsaw: Central Statistical Office; 2004.
    3. Koskinen S, Martelin T. Why are socioeconomic mortality differences smaller among women than among men? Soc Sci Med. 1994 May;38(10):1385-96. Go to original source...
    4. Malmström M, Johansson SE, Sundquist J. A hierarchical analysis of long-term illness and mortality in socially deprived areas. Soc Sci Med. 2001 Aug;53(3):265-75. Go to original source...
    5. Uitenbroek DG, Verhoeff AP. Life expectancy and mortality differences between migrant groups living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Soc Sci Med. 2002 May;54(9):1379-88. Go to original source...
    6. Fukuda Y, Nakamura K, Takano T. Municipal socioeconomic status and mortality in Japan: sex and age differences, and trends in 1973-1998. Soc Sci Med. 2004 Dec;59(12):2435-45. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    7. Blazer DG. Social support and mortality in an elderly community population. Am J Epidemiol. 1982 May;115(5):684-94. Go to original source...
    8. SeemanTE, Kaplan GA, Knudsen L, Cohen R, Guralnik J. Social network ties and mortality among the elderly in the Alameda County Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1987 Oct;126(4):714-23. Go to original source...
    9. Hibbard JH, Pope CR. The quality of social roles as predictors of morbidity and mortality. Soc Sci Med. 1993 Feb;36(3):217-25. Go to original source...
    10. Yasuda N, Zimmerman SI, Hawkes W, Fredman L, Hebel JR, Magaziner J. Relation of social network characteristics to 5-year mortality among young-old versus old-old white women in an urban community. Am J Epidemiol. 1997 Mar 15;145(6):516-23. Go to original source...
    11. Cerhan JR, Wallace RB. Change in social ties and subsequent mortality in rural elders. Epidemiology. 1997 Sep;8(5):475-81. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    12. Kennelly B, O'Shea E, Garvey E. Social capital, life expectancy and mortality: a cross-national examination. Soc Sci Med. 2003 Jun;56(12):236777. Go to original source...
    13. Idler EL, Kasl SV, Lemke JH. Self-evaluated health and mortality among the elderly in New Haven, Connecticut, and Iowa and Washington counties, Iowa, 1982-1986. Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Jan;131(1):91-103. Go to original source...
    14. Idler EL, BenyaminiY. Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies. J Health Soc Behav. 1997 Mar;38(1):2137. Go to original source...
    15. Kaplan G, Barell V, Lusky A. Subjective state of health and survival in elderly adults. J Gerontol. 1988 Jul;43(4):S114-20. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. Mossey JM, Shapiro E. Self-rated health: a predictor of mortality among the elderly. Am J Public Health. 1982 Aug;72(8):800-8. Go to original source...
    17. Yu ES, Kean YM, Slymen DJ, Liu WT, Zhang M, Katzman R. Self-perceived health and 5-year mortality risks among the elderly in Shanghai, China. Am J Epidemiol. 1998 May 1;147(9):880-90. Go to original source...
    18. Jylhä M, Leskinen E, Alanen E, Leskinen AL, Heikkinen E. Self-rated health and associated factors among men in different ages. J Gerontol. 1986 Nov;41(6):710-7. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    19. Fylkesnes K, Fřrde OH. Determinants and dimensions involved in selfevaluation of health. Soc Sci Med. 1992 Aug;35(3):271-9. Go to original source...
    20. Krause NM, Jay GM. What do global self-rated health items measure? Med Care. 1994 Sep;32(9):930-42. Go to original source...
    21. Kempen GI, Miedema I, van den Bos GA, Ormel J. Relationship of domain-specific measures of health to perceived overall health among older subjects. J Clin Epidemiol. 1998 Jan;51(1):11-8. Go to original source...
    22. Borg V, Kristensen TS. Social class and self-rated health: can the gradient be explained by differences in life style or work environment? Soc Sci Med. 2000 Oct;51(7):1019-30. Go to original source...
    23. Baron-Epel O, Kaplan G. General subjective health status or age-related subjective health status: does it make a difference? Soc Sci Med. 2001 Nov;53(10):1373-81. Go to original source...
    24. Bryant LL, Corbertt KK, Kutner JS. In their own words: a model of healthy ageing. Soc Sci Med. 2001 Oct;53(7):927-41. Go to original source...
    25. Manderbacka K, Kåreholt I, Martikainen P, Lundberg O. The effect of point of reference on the association between self-rated health and mortality. Soc Sci Med. 2003 Apr;56(7):1447-52. Go to original source...
    26. Krause N. Satisfaction with social support and self-rated health in older adults. Gerontologist. 1987 Jun;27(3):301-8. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    27. Bailis DS, Segall A, Chipperfield JG. Two views of self-rated general health status. Soc Sci Med. 2003 Jan;56(2):203-17. Go to original source...
    28. Benjamins MR, Hummer RA, Eberstein IW, Nam CB. Self-reported health and adult mortality risk: an analysis of cause-specific mortality. Soc Sci Med. 2004 Sep;59(6):1297-306. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    29. Siegrist J. Models of health behaviour. Eur Heart J. 1988 Jun;9(6):70914. Go to original source...
    30. BenyaminiY, Leventhal EA, Leventhal H. Elderly people's ratings of the importance of health-related factors to their self-assessments of health. Soc Sci Med. 2003 Apr;56(8):1661-7. Go to original source...
    31. Benyamini Y, Idler EL. Community studies reporting associations between self-rated health and mortality: additional studies, 1995 to 1998. Res Ageing. 1999;21(3):392-401. Go to original source...
    32. BenyaminiY, Leventhal EA, Leventhal H. Self-assessment of health: what do people know that predicts their mortality? Res Ageing. 1999;21:477500. Go to original source...
    33. Krzyżanowski M, Wysocki M. The relation of thirteen-year mortality to ventilatory impairment and other respiratory symptoms: the Cracow study. Int J Epidemiol. 1986 Mar;15(1):56-64. Go to original source...
    34. Manderbacka K, Lundberg O. Examining points of reference of selfrated health among Swedish oldest old. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 1996 Jul-Aug;23(1):47-60. Go to original source...

    Return to the content