Self-rated Health, Depression, and One-year Health Outcomes in Older Primary Care Patients

Objective: The authors tested the hypothesis that poorer self-rated health is associated with poorer health outcomes.

Method: They prospectively examined the association of self-rated health to 1-year outcomes in 247 older subjects from primary care settings.

Results: Poorer self-rated health was independently associated with 1-year functional disability, after covarying initial clinical and functional measures, but was not independently associated with 1-year depression diagnosis. Results were mixed regarding associations with 1-year medical burden or mortality.

Conclusions: Clinicians should be vigilant for functional decline in patients who perceive their health negatively. Future research should test potential mechanisms that might underlie this association.