Morbidity and associated factors in rural and urban populations of South Lebanon: a cross‐sectional community‐based study of self‐reported health in 2000

OBJECTIVE: To assess self-reported morbidity and its determining factors in South Lebanon, with an emphasis on the influence of the habitat location (urban vs. rural) and gender. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey in 2000 among 524 South Lebanon residents >/=14 years sampled from a random sample of households using a multi-level cluster sampling technique. Data on self-reported morbidity, lifestyle and socioeconomic status were collected through interviews, using a standardized questionnaire. To evaluate deprivation, a new index was created; the modified 'Living Conditions Index'. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to test the effect of habitat and gender on self-reported morbidity. RESULTS: People in one-fifth of the households lived in precarious conditions. Illiteracy was significantly higher in rural than urban settings. Urban residents reported obesity, varicose veins, anxiety/depression and visual disorders more often. Illiteracy, headaches, lumbar pain, varicose veins and anxiety/depression were more frequently reported by women, whereas ulcers, hearing disorders, cardio-vascular diseases and their risk factors were more frequently reported by men. Precarious living conditions were associated with headaches, lumbar pains and insomnia. Individuals covered by a health insurance sought care more often than the uninsured. CONCLUSION: Habitat location had only a minor influence on self-reported morbidity; women perceived their health as poorer than men and a number of disease conditions were influenced by deprivation. Our study confirms that the epidemiological transition phenomenon had occurred in South Lebanon in 2000. Our community-based data can serve as a baseline for monitoring changes in health in South Lebanon in the future and especially those because of the war that emerged in July 2006.