The impacts of socioeconomic status and lifestyle on health status of residents: Evidence from Chinese General Social Survey data

INTRODUCTION: There remain distinct regional and urban-rural health status disparities amidst the background of China's rapid economic growth, posing important challenges to policymakers. The objectives of this study are to examine the relationships between socioeconomic status, lifestyle, and health status and to compare the effect disparities in eastern, central, and western regions, urban and rural areas of China. METHODS: This paper employed data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) conducted in 2015. In addition, ordered probit model was adopted to explore the impacts of socioeconomic status and lifestyle on health status of residents. RESULTS: The results indicate that socioeconomic status factors, including income and social class, show statistically significant and positive correlation to health status. Furthermore, lifestyle factors, for example physical exercise and friend interaction, are statistically significant and positively related to health status. Moreover, the effect of lifestyle on health status in eastern, central, and western regions varies greatly. Finally, marital status, education, physical exercise, and friend interaction exhibit statistically disparate effects on health status in both urban and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that socioeconomic status and lifestyle have significant effects on resident's health status, and the effects show significant regional and urban-rural disparities.