Abstract
Rapid urban population growth, especially in the last three decades, has begun to present a serious threat to living conditions, and posing increased risks to human health. Investigating the relationship between population size of city areas and self-rated health (SRH) can, we argue, provide insights for the management of population growth and improving SRH. This study employed a multilevel analysis to reveal the effects of city size on SRH both from migrant status and household registration perspectives, using data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) for 2013. The results indicate that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between city size and SRH. Income and population density were shown to constitute significant positive impact drivers in relation to SRH. In contrast, migrant status and household registration exerted a significant negative effect on SRH. While the SRH status of migrants was not influenced by city size, city size was found to influence the SRH of individuals differently in different regions (i.e., eastern, central, and western parts of China). The results will be helpful in understanding the effect of the dynamics of city size on SRH in China, and will assist the Chinese government in employing effective strategies to improve SRH status.
Highlights
Rapid population growth has been witnessed around the world in the last three decades, not least in China [1]
Larger cities generally enjoy the benefits of better infrastructure and richer social services, when city size is the result of unrestrained expansion, it can be related to poor outcomes, such as higher resource consumption, variation in living conditions, environmental pollution, traffic congestion, and scarcity of public services, which, in turn, lead to lower self-rated health (SRH)
This study found city size, income, population density, migrant status, and household registration status to constitute the significant impact drivers in relation to SRH in China
Summary
Rapid population growth has been witnessed around the world in the last three decades, not least in China [1]. When the services sector is the dominant industrial sector, the influence of city size on urban productivity by scale impact in China will be larger [21] Drawing on this previous literature, the hypothesis that is tested in the present study holds that an inverted U-shaped curve exists between city size and self-rated health (SRH). This means that human SRH status is expected to first increase along with the growth of a given city, show a downwards trend as the city increases in size and sprawls. A better understanding of the impact of city size on SRH will be of benefit in the task of improving human health
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