Influence of Material Well-Being on Self-Assessment of Health of the Population of Older Age Groups

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to assess the financial situation of persons aged 60 years and older on the basis of the anonymous survey data and to analyze the dependence of their health on the level of their material well-being. The survey was conducted in 2017. A total of 967 people aged 60 years and older living in Moscow were interviewed. All of them are under medical supervision in the city polyclinic. The questionnaire included questions about the amount of the monthly income of the family per each member. Using the term «family», the authors mean a group of people who share a common household, regardless of the degree of their relationship. Health assessment was conducted on the basis of one’s self-assessment. The average level of self-assessment of health in each group was calculated. The study made it possible to determine the presence of gender differences in the level of material well-being of the population aged 60–69 years. Thus, men have a lower proportion of low income and a higher proportion of well-off persons compared to women. In the older age group (70 years and older), gender differences in the level of material well-being are not detected. There is no classical correlation between the level of disposable income and the value of self-assessment of one’s health, but the level of self-esteem in the group of better-off men in all age groups was a little higher than in the group of low-income people, while women had higher self-esteem in the low-income age groups of 60–69 years. Only the better-off group of the older age women showed higher self-esteem. The degree of decline in health self-esteem was higher in the low-income group, regardless of gender, but among the women, the degree of decline in self-esteem was higher due to higher scores in the younger age groups and lower scores in the older age groups.