Determinants of Poor Self-Rated Health in Late Life

The authors examined the determinants of poor self-rated health by use of data from the Duke University site of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE). Study participants were community residents, 65 years of age or older, selected from five contiguous counties in the north-central Piedmont area of North Carolina. Poorer self-rated health was correlated cross-sectionally with depressive symptomatology, poor functional status, chronic disease, lower income, less education, being married, younger age, being hospitalized within the past year, and current smoking habit. The authors emphasize the importance of a comprehensive model for understanding the components of the construct of self-rated health and propose possible explanations for the significant correlates of self-rated health.