Self-rated general and oral health in New York City adults: assessing the effect of individual and neighborhood social factors

Borrell LN, Baquero MC. Self‐rated general and oral health in New York City adults: assessing the effect of individual and neighborhood social factors. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2011; 39: 361–371. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S – Objective: This study investigates the independent and joint effects of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics on self‐rated general and oral health before and after controlling for selected characteristics in adults aged 18 years and older in New York City. Methods: Data for 1168 individuals who participated in the 2004 Social Indicators Survey were linked to neighborhood data from the 2000 US Census. Log‐binomial regression models fitted using generalized estimating equations were used to calculate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). sudaan was used to accommodate the complex sampling design of the survey and the intra‐neighborhood correlation of outcomes of individuals residing within the same neighborhoods. Results: After adjusting for selected characteristics, survey participants with 12 years of education or less were almost twice more likely to rate their general health as fair/poor than counterparts with more than 12 years of education [PRs 1.86 (95%CI: 1.16, 3.00) and 1.82 (95%CI: 1.18, 2.82)]. Participants earning