79. Self-rated health is associated with inflammation in young men of the general population

Abstract

Self-rated health is a powerful predictor of long-term health and mortality, but relatively little is known about what biological factors influence an individual’s perceived health status. Previous research has linked signs of low-grade inflammation with poor self-rated health, but primarily in women and little in the general population. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between a general measure of inflammation – erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) – and self-rated health in young men. Data was used from 49,321 men when they were conscribed to military service in 1969–70 at the age of 18–20 years. The odds ratio of having an elevated ESR (⩾7 mm/h) for those who rated their health as “Poor”/“Very poor” versus those rating their health as “Excellent” was 2.13 (95% CI: 1.85–2.44). Inclusion of background variables such as smoking, low emotional control and psychiatric diagnoses did not significantly alter these results. The results were also sustained after excluding those with an ESR above 20 mm/h. These findings support, for the first time, a link between inflammation and self-rated health also in young men.