Self-rated health of Brazilian women of childbearing age: a cross-sectional study.
Luiza Oliveira Santos, Thayane Fraga de Paula, Maria José Silva Souza and 3 others
PMID 37930235WHAT IT FOUND
Only 71.5% of 26,071 Brazilian women aged 18 to 49 rated their health very good or good.
Negative ratings were common in older, less educated, black or brown, North and Northeast women, and those with diseases, inactivity or smoking.
Key findings
01In 26,071 Brazilian women aged 18 to 49, 71.5% rated their health very good or good.
02Negative self-rated health was more common among women aged 40 to 49, those with 0 to 9 years of education, black or brown women, and women living in the North or Northeast.
03Women with two or more non-communicable diseases, those who were physically inactive, and those who smoked had higher prevalence of negative self-rated health.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it can show associations but cannot show that age, education, race, region, diseases or behaviours caused poor self-rated health. Self-rated health was measured with one survey question and did not capture women's own narratives about health. Diseases, behaviours and health ratings were self-reported, which may understate how common they were. The paper does not test whether addressing these factors improves self-rated health.
Declared interests
The funding and conflicts section lists scholarships from UFMG, FAPEMIG and CAPES; it does not name a commercial sponsor or report a conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the finding that women who reported alcohol use had lower prevalence of negative self-rated health as evidence that drinking helps. This was a cross-sectional survey with self-reported data, and the paper attributes the finding to social acceptance of alcohol, not protection.