Factors associated with good self-rated health of non-disabled elderly living alone in Japan: a cross-sectional study

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a metropolitan suburb in Japan. Questionnaires pertaining to SRH and physical conditions, lifestyle factors, psychological status, and social activities, were distributed in October 2005 to individuals aged ≥ 65 years and living alone. Response rate was 75.1%. Among these respondents, a total of 600 male and 2587 female respondents were identified as non-disabled elderly living alone and became our subjects. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with good SRH and sex-specific effect was tested by stepwise logistic regression.Good SRH was reported by 69.8% of men and 73.8% of women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that good SRH correlated with, in odds ratio sequence, "can go out alone to distant places", no depression, no weight loss, absence of self-rated chronic disease, good chewing ability, and good visual ability in men; whereas with "can go out alone to distant places", absence of self-rated chronic disease, no weight loss, no depression, no risk of falling, independent IADL, good chewing ability, good visual ability, and social integration (attend) in women.For the non-disabled elderly living alone, sex-appropriate support should be considered by health promotion systems from the view point of SRH. Overall, the ability to go out alone to distant places is crucial to SRH of both men and women.Self-rated health (SRH) is a subjective assessment of individual health status and has been well documented as a reliable predictor of functional disability and mortality in aged populations [1-5]. To enhance the quality of life and survival of the elderly, SRH and related determinants have been examined in many populations worldwide. Studies performed in Japan [6-8] showed that SRH worsened with age and correlated with income, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and social support in the community-dwelling 47–77-year-old population and with chewing ability in 80-year-old