Brazilians with less education more likely to report being in poor health, study finds
16-MAY-2018
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Brazilians with less education are more likely to self-report as being in poor health, according to a study using data from nationwide surveys distributed every five years from 1998 to 2013. The study also found that general subjective health did not improve over the study period, even though more people gained education throughout the study, indicating that other factors associated with poor education may need to be addressed to improve self-perceptions of health.
University of Illinois researchers Flavia Cristina Drumond Andrade, a professor of kinesiology and community health, and Jeenal Deepak Mehta, an undergraduate student, published the study in the journal PLOS ONE.
"Self-reported perceived health is an effective health indicator that has been shown to be a good predictor of mortality," Andrade said. "In social contexts such as developing countries, in which some diseases may go unnoticed or undiagnosed for a while, survey data can give a good sense of individuals' assessment of their overall health."
Andrade and Mehta used data from the 1998, 2003 and 2008 Brazilian National Household Sample Survey and the Brazil National Health Survey 2013. The surveys included many factors, such as education levels, employment, race, location and health. Participants reported themselves as being in "good" or "poor" health.
More:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/uoia-bwl051618.php