Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This 3-year longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate the influence of self-rating health perception on health care utilization and all cause-death risk. METHODS: The hypothesis was tested using a community-based samples, among which subjects 3,414 were interviewed in 1995. Self-rating health perception was assessed by single-item question. Three components of health care utilization amount(number of visits, number of medications, yearly health care expenses) per year were measured using medical insurance data during 3-year follow-up period among subjects in district health care insurance. There were 123 deaths from all causes among 3,085 subjects interviewed. RESULTS: The results showed that those who had poor health perception revealed more increases in the amount of health care utilization than good health perception group (p<0.05). After adjusting for age and sex, the poor health perception group had higher death risk over 3 years than good health perception group(hazard ratio=1.88). but, after adjusting health care utility, supplementary, was not significant. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that self-rating health percep-tion was associated with difference in health care utilization and all cause-death risk.

• Keywords: Health perception;Death risk;Health care utilization;Longitudinal study