Association of objective health factors with self-reported health

OBJECTIVES. There is a strong relationship between subjective health and mortality, level of functional ability and medical consumption. The aim of this study was to describe the correlation of objective health-related factors with self-reported health (SRH) of a sample of the Belgian population. METHODS. Participants were recruited during an exhibition at the Brussels Exhibition Centre. They completed a visual analogue scale assessing their SRH. Medical history and health related parameters of the participants were recorded. RESULTS. In total 974 visitors participated. From the multivariate analysis we found an association between low SRH and diabetes (OR 0.23-0.80), increased body mass index (OR 0.52-0.74), coronary heart disease (OR 0.28-0.97), smoking (OR 0.38-0.89), speaking Dutch (OR 0.40-0.92), not knowing length (OR 0.36- 0.99), family history of breast cancer (OR 0.41-0.94), family history of coronary heart disease (OR 0.45-095) and aging (OR 0.84-0.99). Following a cholesterol-lowering diet was associated with a high SRH (OR 1.10-2.44). CONCLUSIONS. Most of the factors associated with low SRH are known and confirm what has previously been reported in literature. However, the associations between low SRH and not knowing your length, speaking Dutch or having a family history of breast or colon cancer, as well as the association between high SRH and being on a cholesterol-lowering diet are interesting new findings.