Subjective health status and health values in the general population

Objective. To explore the relationship between rating-scale evaluation of h ealth-related quality of life ("health value") and two subjective evaluatio ns of health: the SF-36 profile and the five-category perception of general health (excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor). Methods. This relatio nship was explored by linear and nonlinear regression analysis of data obta ined through face-to-face interviews with a sample of 2,030 persons aged 45 -75 years representing the Israeli Jewish urban population in that age grou p. Results. The main outcome is a mapping assigning health values to the su bjective health-status scores, e.g., "good" general health is equivalent to a health Value of 76-81, depending on the functional form of the relation. "Poor" health is equivalent to a value of 45-61. The R-2 is about 0.3. Whi le the eight scales of the SF-36 were found to be linearly related to healt h value (R-2 = 0.51), the two summary measures-physical component scale (PC S) and mental component scale (MCS)-were not. The scales measuring general health, vitality, and physical functioning were the main determinants of he alth value, while the role-performance scales were insignificant. The PCS h ad a larger effect than the MCS. Discussion. These relationships provide de eper insight into the structure and meaning of the two health-status measur es in the general population. They also place earlier determinations of the se relationships among sick persons in a broader context and raise several further questions regarding the relationship between health values and heal th status.