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Socioeconomic inequalities, health damaging behavior, and self-perceived health in Serbia: a cross-sectional study
Aim To analyze the association of socioeconomic factors with self-perceived health in Serbia and examine whether this association can be partly explained by health behavior variables. Methods We used data from the 2007 Living Standards Measurement Study for Serbia. A representative sample of 13 831...
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Published in: | Croatian medical journal 2012-06, Vol.53 (3), p.254 |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Aim To analyze the association of socioeconomic factors
with self-perceived health in Serbia and examine whether
this association can be partly explained by health behavior
variables.
Methods We used data from the 2007 Living Standards
Measurement Study for Serbia. A representative sample of
13 831 persons aged ≥20 years was interviewed. The associations
between demographic factors (age, sex, marital
status, and type of settlement), socioeconomic factors (education,
employment status, and household consumption
tertiles), and health behavior variables (smoking, alcohol
consumption) and self-perceived health were examined
using logistic regression analyses.
Results A stepwise gradient was found between education
and self-perceived health for the total sample, men,
and women. Compared to people with high education,
people with low education had a 4.5 times higher chance
of assessing their health as poor. Unemployed (odds ratio
[OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29-2.10), inactive
(OR, 2.82; 95% CI, 2.49-3.19), and the most deprived respondents
(OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02-1.34) were more likely to
report poor self-perceived health than employed persons
and the most affluent group. After adjustment for demographic
and health behavior variables, the magnitudes of
all associations decreased but remained clearly and significantly
graded.
Conclusions This study revealed inequalities in self-perceived
health by socioeconomic position, in particular educational
and employment status. The reduction of such
inequalities through wisely tailored interventions that benefit
people’s health should be a target of a national health
policy in Serbia |
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ISSN: | 0353-9504 1332-8166 |