Healthy Behaviors and Self-Rated Health Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-National Comparison Between US and Korea

This study was aimed to conduct a cross-national comparison of healthy behaviors related to self-rated health (SRH) in U.S. and Korean older populations. The study population comprised 9,529 persons from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study and 4,424 persons from the 2016 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing who were 65 and older. Separate logistic regression models based on gender were used to examine the association between healthy behaviors and SRH among older adults. Regression results showed that drinking, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) (underweight) were homogeneously associated with SRH in both countries among females. Unlike females, country differences were found in former smoking and BMI (overweight and obese) among males. The disparity found in smoking and BMI among males may be due to differing attitudes toward the indicators in the U.S. and Korean social/cultural contexts. Appropriate intervention strategies should be developed considering each country’s social/cultural contexts.