Valued life activity disability played a significant role in self-rated health among adults with chronic health conditions.

OBJECTIVE

Because self-rated health (SRH) is strongly associated with health outcomes, it is important to identify factors that individuals take into account when they assess their health. We examined the role of valued life activities (VLAs), the wide range of activities deemed to be important to individuals, in SRH assessments.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

Data were from three cohort studies of individuals with different chronic conditions--rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Each cohort's data were collected through structured telephone interviews. Logistic regression analyses identified factors associated with ratings of fair/poor SRH. All analyses included sociodemographic characteristics, general and disease-specific health-related factors, and general measures of physical functioning.

RESULTS

Substantial portions of each group rated their health as fair/poor (RA 37%, SLE 47%, COPD 40%). In each group, VLA disability was strongly associated with fair/poor health (RA: OR=4.44 [1.86,10.62]; SLE: OR=3.60 [2.10,6.16]; COPD: OR=2.76 [1.30,5.85]), even after accounting for covariates.

CONCLUSION

VLA disability appears to play a substantial role in individual perceptions of health, over and above other measures of health status, disease symptoms, and general physical functioning.