Paradoxes in self-evaluated health data in a developing country

BACKGROUND: Statistics showed that males reported fewer illnesses and greater mortality rates than females, but are outlived by approximately 6 years by their female counterparts, yet their self-rated health status is the same as that of females. AIMS: This study examines the following questions: (1) Are there paradoxes in health disparity between the sexes in Jamaica? and (2) is there an explanation for the disparity outside of education, marital status, and area of residence? METHODS AND MATERIALS: The current study utilised a data set collected jointly by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica. The data set is a survey on the living conditions of Jamaicans. It was conducted between May and August of 2007. The JSLC is a modification of the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study. The sample size was 6,783 respondents, with a non-response rate being 26.2%. RESULTS: Good health status was correlated with self-reported illness (OR =0.23, 95% CI = 0.09-0.59), medical care-seeking behaviour (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.36-0.72), age (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.96-0.97), and income (OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 1.00-1.00). Self-reported illness is statistically correlated with sex (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.10-0.62), head of household (OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.12-0.96), age (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01-1.07) and current good self-rated health status (OR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.12-0.84). CONCLUSION: This paper highlights that caution must be used by researchers in interpreting self-reported health data of males.