Self-rated health among the adult population of the Russian Federation: analysis of dynamics over 2019–2024

Introduction. Self-rated health is the most widely used indicator of health, taking into account all its components – physical and mental health, emotional, social and financial well-being. Although individuals rate their health based on their own perceptions, when aggregated, the indicator accurately represents the health of the entire population. The purpose of the study: based on self-rated health, to analyze dynamics in health among the adult population, including across age groups, in 2019–2024. Materials and methods. Self-rated health among the adult population of the Russian Federation was analyzed using microdata of the Selective observation of population health conducted by Rosstat in 2019–2024. The respondents rated their health as “very good”, “good”, “fair”, “poor”, and “very poor”. The dynamics in indicators were estimated by calculating relative change. Results. In 2019–2024, there were changes across all categories of health: the proportion of adults who rated their health as “very good” and “good” increased from 9.0% to 9.3% and 47.3% to 49.7%, respectively. The proportion of adults who rated their health as “fair”, “poor” and “very poor” decreased from 35.7% to 34.9%, from 6.9% to 5.5% and 0.9% to 0.5%, respectively. Overall, 56.3% of adults rated their health as “very good” and “good” in 2019, and 50% in 2020, versus 60% in 2024. Among people aged 15–39, more than 80% rated their health as “very good” and “good” versus 65% of people aged 40–49. In older age groups, this proportion was gradually decreasing. Conclusion. Self-rated health is a comprehensive indicator reflecting the impact of various aspects of life on human health, including diseases, age-related changes, and can be used to assess population health, as well as effectiveness of public health programs.

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