A Cross-Sectional Study of Self-Rated Health among Older Adults: Association with Drinking Profiles and Other Determinants of Health.

Abstract

This study compares the relationship between drinking profiles and self-rated health with and without adjusting for other determinants of health among a sample of older adults from the general population. Respondents were 1,494 men and 2,176 women aged between 55 and 74 from the GENACIS Canadian survey. The dependent variable was self-rated health, an individual's perception of his or her own general health, a measure used as a proxy for health status. The independent variables were drinking profiles (types of drinkers and nondrinkers) as well as other demographic, psychosocial, and health-related variables (control variables). After adjustment for other determinants of health, regression analyses showed that (1) frequent/moderate drinkers were more likely to have a better self-rated health compared with nondrinkers (lifetime abstainers and former drinkers) and (2) self-rated health did not differ significantly between frequent/moderate drinkers and other types of drinkers (frequent/nonmoderate and infrequent drinkers). Our results suggest that drinking is related to a better self-rated health compared with nondrinking regardless of the drinking profile. Drinking and healthy lifestyle guidelines specific to older adults should be studied, discussed, and integrated into public health practices.