The effect of objective income and perceived economic resources on self-rated health

Abstract

Background Several studies have demonstrated that self-rated health status is affected by socioeconomic variables. However, there is little knowledge about whether perceived economic resources affect people’s health. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-rated health status and different measures of income. Specifically, the effect of both objective income and perceived economic resources are estimated for a very large sample of households in Italy. By estimating this relationship, this paper aims at filling the previously mentioned gap. Methods The data used are from the 2015 European Health Interview Survey and were collected using information from approximately 16,000 households in 562 Italian municipalities. Ordinary and generalized ordered probit models were used in estimating the effects of a set of covariates, among others measures of income, on the self-rated health status. Results The results suggest that the subjective income, measured by the perceived economic resources, affects the probability of reporting a higher self-rate health status more than objective income. The results also indicate that other variables, such as age, educational level, presence/absence of chronic disease, and employment status, affect self-rated health more significantly than objective income. It is also found that males report more frequently higher rating than females. Conclusions Our analysis demonstrates that perceived income affects significantly self-rated health. While self-perceived economic resources have been used to assess economic well-being and satisfaction, they can also be used to assess stress levels and related health outcomes. Our findings suggest that low subjective income adversely affects subjective health. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between effects of income and individuals’ perceptions of their economic resources or overall financial situation on their health. From a gender perspective, our results show that females are less likely to have high rating than males. However, as females perceive an improved economic situation, on the margin, the likelihood of a higher self-rated health increases compared to males.

Assessing socioeconomic inequalities in cognitive impairment among older adults: a study based on a cross-sectional survey in India

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Longer leisure walking time is associated with positive self-rated health among adults and older adults: a Brazilian nationwide study

“…The literature shows that demographic, economic and factors related to the presence of chronic noncommunicable diseases influence the way people can assess their own health status ( Szwarcwald et al, 2015 ; Cialani & Mortazavi, 2020 ; Haj-Younes et al, 2020 ). In this sense, in order to characterize the sample and adjust the multivariate analyses of the present research, the following variables were collected through questionnaire: sex (male/female); age in years (18–29 years; 30–39 years; 40–49 years; 50–59 years; 60–69 years; ≥ 70 years); schooling in years of study (≥ 12 years; 9–11 years; ≤ 8 years); skin color (white; brown; black; yellow; indigenous); marital status (single; married or stable relationship; divorced or widowed).…”