Background: Previous studies have reported declines in health status during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, findings on socioeconomic differences in these changes are inconsistent. This study aimed to analyze changes in self-rated health among middle-...
Background: Previous studies have reported declines in health status during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, findings on socioeconomic differences in these changes are inconsistent. This study aimed to analyze changes in self-rated health among middle-aged and older adults before and after COVID-19 according to socioeconomic characteristics.
Methods: Data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) spanning 2014–2020 were used to analyze 5,909 participants who completed all four survey waves. Chi-square tests were conducted to examine associations between self-rated health and related variables. Subsequently, generalized linear mixed models were applied to examine interaction effects between the COVID-19 period and socioeconomic characteristics.
Results: The odds of reporting good self-rated health were significantly lower during the COVID-19 period in the overall study population. In subgroup analyses, statistically significant associations between the COVID-19 period and self-rated health were observed among national health insurance subscribers, individuals with higher education, and employed participants. In interaction analyses, the interaction terms between the COVID-19 period and education level and employment status were statistically significant, whereas the interaction term for insurance type was not significant.
Discussion: Differences in exposure to work environment changes and levels of policy-related buffering across socioeconomic groups during the COVID-19 period may be related to the observed changes in self-rated health.
Conclusion: Changes in self-rated health during the COVID-19 period varied across socioeconomic characteristics.