TABLE 2.
Bivariate Logits of Self-Reported Health Status, by Social Support, Demographic Characteristics, and Gender: Older Adults in the United States, 1999–2002
| Good vs Very Good/Excellent Health Status |
Poor/Fair vs Very Good/Excellent Health Status |
|||
| Men, OR (95% CI) | Women, OR (95% CI) | Men, OR (95% CI) | Women, OR (95% CI) | |
| Age ≥ 72 y vs 60–71 y | 1.20 (0.90, 1.58) | 1.48** (1.09, 2.01) | 1.50*** (1.12, 2.01) | 1.55*** (1.16, 2.07) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| All other vs Non-Hispanic White | 1.31 (0.85, 2.02) | 1.42 (0.89, 2.27) | 2.29† (1.49, 3.51) | 2.96† (1.90, 4.59) |
| Non-Hispanic Black vs Non-Hispanic White | 2.46† (1.83, 3.32) | 2.10† (1.45, 3.03) | 3.02† (2.07, 4.42) | 3.43† (2.26, 4.94) |
| Highest educational attainment | ||||
| High school vs more than high school | 1.65*** (1.15, 2.36) | 1.94† (1.32, 2.84) | 2.05† (1.49, 2.83) | 2.64† (1.84, 3.78) |
| Less than high school vs more than high school | 2.42† (1.71, 3.44) | 2.17† (1.49, 3.17) | 5.42† (3.81, 7.71) | 7.04† (4.86, 10.19) |
| Divorced/separated/widowed vs married and othersa | 1.42** (1.07, 1.90) | 1.09 (0.82, 1.43) | 1.80† (1.30, 2.50) | 1.60*** (1.14, 2.25) |
| Needs more emotional support Yes vs no | 1.37* (0.95, 1.97) | 1.58*** (1.15, 2.16) | 3.40† (2.51, 4.62) | 2.16† (1.51, 3.10) |
| Sources of emotional support | ||||
| Other only vs family and otherb | 1.35 (0.60, 3.05) | 1.11 (0.73, 1.68) | 1.89* (0.90, 3.98) | 0.97 (0.53, 1.75) |
| Family only vs family and otherb | 1.49* (0.97, 2.29) | 1.25 (0.93, 1.69) | 1.37 (0.86, 2.18) | 1.42** (1.05, 1.91) |
| No onec vs family and otherb | 1.81** (1.02, 3.20) | 1.35 (0.89, 2.05) | 2.56† (1.47, 4.47) | 1.76* (0.91, 3.40) |
| Number of close friends | ||||
| 5–50 vs 1–4 | 0.80 (0.61, 1.60) | 0.71*** (0.56, 0.91) | 0.67*** (0.50, 0.89) | 0.76* (0.57, 1.00) |
| None vs 1–4 | 1.44 (0.72, 2.88) | 1.24 (0.46, 3.31) | 3.71† (1.95, 7.05) | 1.94 (0.80, 4.70) |
| Obtained financial support vs will not accept support/support not obtained | 1.06 (0.72, 1.54) | 1.49** (1.07, 2.06) | 1.29 (0.81, 2.06) | 1.67** (1.11, 2.53) |
Note. OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval. For men, n = 1680; for women, n = 1796.
a
Living with a spouse, living with a partner, or never married.
b
Received support from both family and community members.
c
Received no emotional support.
*P < .10; **P < .05; ***P < .01; †P < .001.