Original Influencing Factors of Self-Perceived Health of Older People in a Rural Area in Southern China

Background and objective: Self-perceived health (SPH) is a strong indicator of the health and life ex-pectancy of a population. This study aimed to explore the status and influencing factors of SPH in a rural area in Southern China.Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study involving 1617 participants over the age of 60 years. Standardised questions during face-to-face interviews were provided to collect general information and SPH status. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyse the SPH status.Results: Nearly 82% of our study's respondents reported their health status as 'good'. Results showed that annual household income < 3000 yuan (OR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.23-3.19, p = 0.005), annual household income between 3000 and 5000 yuan (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.03-1.88, p = 0.031), insomnia (OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.40-2.47, p < 0.001), drinking (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.38-0.76, p < 0.001), total number of hospi-talisations >= 2 (OR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.88-4.24, p < 0.001), total number of hospitalisations = 1 (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.58-3.14, p < 0.001), hearing (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.35-0.64, p < 0.001), vision (OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.47-0.88, p = 0.006), doing farm work (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.46-0.82, p < 0.001), chronic diseases (OR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.60-3.25, p < 0.001) and instrumental activities of daily living independently (OR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.61-3.03, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with SPH.Conclusions: This study is the first that examines the determinants of SPH amongst Guilin's older peo-ple. The main determinants of SPH amongst older people include economic condition, health status and healthy behaviour.Copyright (c) 2023, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine.