Background: We obtain evidence on self-reported health in India using a new large-scale survey database.
Methods: We report summary statistics about the self-reported ill-health rate, and explore relationships with socio-economic parameters through logistic regressions.
Results: The overall average ill health rate is 3.25%. The most important correlates are age, income and location. We find substantial variation across the 102 'homogeneous regions' of the country. Higher income is correlated with better health in 40% of India.
Conclusions: The maps of ill health seen here diverge from conventional wisdom about North vs. South India. Epidemiological studies are required in the hotspots of ill-health and the regions where higher income does not correlate with improved health.
Keywords: Self-reported health, India, geographical variation, SES and health.
Citation:
Distribution of self-reported health in India: The role of income and geography, Ila Patnaik, Renuka Sane, Ajay Shah, S. V. Subramanian, PLoS ONE 18(1), pages 1-18, January 2023. DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0279999.
