ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Determinants of Self-Rated Health
among the Elderly Living in a Big City
Environment
Irena Maniecka-Bryła, Wojciech Drygas, Marek Bryła,
Elżbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk
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Departament of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University in Łódź,
Żeligowskiego 7/9, 90-752 Łodź, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2011;20(3):691-699
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Our paper aims to analyze the impact of factors determining self-rated health (SRH) at an early elderly
age. The research study was conducted in a demonstrative area of the CINDI WHO program in the Górna district
of Łódź. The program has been running since 1991. 768 study subjects aged 65-74 were qualified for the
statistical analysis. In a multiple-factor logistic regression model, we found a statistically significant impact of
the following variables on poor self-rated health at the confidence interval (CI) of 95%. Tertiary and secondary
education contributed to a lower chance of poor SRH compared to primary education. A low number of medical
consultations per year contributed to a lower chance of poor SRH compared to more than 10 medical consultations
per year. High body mass index contributed to a higher chance of poor SRH compared to BMI<25.
Coronary heart disease contributed to a higher chance of poor SRH compared to the lack of this disease. On
the basis of a multiple logistic regression model, we found that good SRH depended on sex (less likely among
females), education (more likely among university graduates), the number of reported medical consultations
(more likely if fewer than 10 per year), BMI (more likely for overweight, but less likely for obese subjects),
diabetes (negative impact), hypertriglicerydemia (negative impact), and coronary heart disease (negative
impact). The subjective perception of one’s own health status is strongly correlated with the health results of
the early elderly subpopulation in a big city environment.