Social differences in self-reported health among men and women in 31 countries in Europe

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine educational differences in self-reported health (SRH) among men and women in Europe. Methods: The study was based on a sample of 15,362 men and 20,272 women from the nationally representative European Quality of Life Survey conducted in 31 European countries in 2007. SRH was measured using a single item and dichotomised into good (very good, good) and poor (fair, bad, very bad) health. Education was classified into seven categories according to the International Standard Classification of Education. Relative index of inequality, multilevel logistic regression analyses, and interaction tests were conducted. Results: Educational differences in SRH were found in almost all countries. After adjustment for covariates, no differences were found in Austria, Denmark, or the Netherlands. The highest differences were observed for both genders in Ireland and Macedonia. Women had significant larger educational differences in SRH than men in Portugal but significant lower differences in Czech Republic and Lithuania. Conclusions: The study underlined that the magnitude of educational differences in SRH varied according to gender and country.