Educational level as a determinant for health: a case study of Portugal

Abstract

Education level can be considered as a proxy for socio-economic status and as a determinant for health and quality of life. The purpose of this research was to analyze the sensitivity of the SF-36 Health Survey to different education levels. The sample used was representative of the Portuguese working age adults between 18 and 64 years of age. 2459 individuals from 822 households were interviewed in both rural and urban areas of Portugal. As a result from this study it was evident that, in general, perceived health status declined with age. However, low education and being female have negative impact on the quality of life. People in low educational level show the lowest health status scores. On the other hand, the health dimensions with the highest standardized differences by education vary with age