Gender inequalities in poor self-rated health: Cross-national comparison of Japan and Korea

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K18858
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 58010:Medical management and medical sociology-related
• Research Institution: Iwate Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Takahashi Shuko 岩手医科大学, 医学部, 研究員 (20758130)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: Gender inequality / Self-rated health / South Korea / Japan

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We analyzed gender inequalities in self-rated health (SRH) in the life course captured in nationally representative surveys from South Korea and Japan. We used data for 239,076 participants aged 20 years or older. The results showed that poor SRH increased with older age, particularly after age 50.
With regard to gender inequality, when we calculated a prevalence ratio of poor SRH (women relative to men) adjusted for socioeconomic status, the differences in the prevalence ratios of poor SRH between the two countries narrowed, that is, gender differences in socioeconomic factors were more decisive explanatory factors than other factors. There must exist other reasons for the“gender paradox”, i.e. why Japan & Korea have managed to achieve high longevity without gender equality.

Free Research Field

社会疫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果の学術的意義として、韓国と日本は類似性があると言われながら、本分析により両国は社会経済的因子を背景とした異なる健康感を持つことが分かり、両国を過大に一般化することに警鐘を鳴らすことが挙げられる。つまり、それぞれの国は健康状況に影響をもたらす決定因子は異なり、特有の状況を理解しする必要がある。社会的意義としては、歴史的に韓国の高齢女性が教育を十分に受けれなかったこと等、弱い立場に置かれていることであり、そのような人々に対する重点的な政策を進める重要性が挙げられる。また、本研究では、韓国も日本でもGender paradoxを説明する他要因を示唆し、さらなる研究が求められる。