Self rated health: Is it as good a predictor of subsequent mortality amongadults in lower as well as in higher social classes?

Study objective - To analyse the predictive power of self rated health for mortality in different socioeconomic groups. Design, setting, participants - Analysis of mortality rates and risk ratios of death during follow up among 170 223 respondents aged 16 years and abov e in the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions 1975-1997, in relation to self rated health stated at the interview, by age, sex, socioeconomic group, ch ronic illness and over time. Main results - There was a strong relation between poor self rated health a nd mortality, greater at younger ages, similar among men and women and amon g persons with and without a chronic illness. The relative relation between self rated health and subsequent death was stronger in higher than in lowe r socioeconomic groups, possibly because of the lower base mortality of the se groups. However, the absolute mortality risk differences between persons reporting poor and good self rated health were similar across socioeconomi c groups within each sex. The mortality risk difference between persons rep orting poor and good self rated health was considerably higher among person s with a chronic illness than among persons without a chronic illness. The mortality risk among persons reporting poor health was increased for shorte r (<2 years) as well as longer (10+ years) periods of follow up. Conclusions - The results suggest that poor self rated health is a strong p redictor of subsequent mortality in all subgroups studied, and that self ra ted health therefore may be a useful outcome measure.