Factors Associated with Self-Rated Health among Korean Elderly

South Korea has the fastest growing aging population in the world, and the Korean older adult population has been reported to have poor self-rated health (SRH). This cross-sectional descriptive survey aimed to examine the SRH and associated factors among the Korean older adult population using the 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data.

The differences in SRH according to socioeconomic, health-related, and mental health-related factors and their relationships were analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression, using data from 1,521 older adults in Korea from the 8th KNHANES.

Self-rated health was higher among older adults with a high family income (odds ratio [OR]=1.58, 95% CI: 1.05−2.36), those who finished elementary school or lower as opposed to those with a middle school diploma (OR=0.52, 95% CI:0.29−0.95), those with a low body mass index (BMI) compared to those with a higher BMI (OR=0.43, 95% CI: 0.21−0.88), those with no unmet health needs (OR=2.00, 95% CI: 1.31−3.06), those with better diet-related circumstances (OR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.15−3.39), those with lower stress (OR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.28−2.44), those with no suicidal ideation (OR=2.92, 95% CI: 1.75−4.87), and those without a history of psychiatric counseling (OR=2.10, 95% CI: 1.02−4.34).

The findings highlight the importance of health behaviors in promoting SRH among older adults in Korea, and emphasize the need for developing and implementing educational programs that reflect these findings.