A preliminary study on the role of personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases on self-reported health across countries

Gerit Pfuhl, Filipe Prazeres, Marta Kowal, Toivo Aavik, Beatriz Abad-Villaverde, Reza Afhami, Leonardo Andrés Aguilar Durán, Grace Akello, Laith Al-Shawaf, Jan Antfolk

90 more authors

Chiemezie Scholastica Atama, Derya Atamtürk Duyar, Roberto Baiocco, Sercan Balım, Carlota Batres, Yakhlef Belkacem, Théo Besson, Adam Bode, Merve Boğa, Jordane Boudesseul, Mahmoud Boussena, Brahim Hamdaoui, Nana Burduli, Ali R. Can, Hakan Çetınkaya, Antonio Chirumbolo, Dimitri Chubinidze, Clément Cornec, Bojana M. Dinić, Seda Dural, İzzet Duyar, Samuel Obinna Ebimgbo, Edgardo Daniel Etchezahar, Peter Fedor, Tomasz Frąckowiak, David A. Frederick, Katarzyna Gałasińska, Felipe E. García, Talía Gómez Yepes, Dmitry Sergeevich Grigoryev, Farida Guemaz, Ivana Hromatko, Gözde İkizer, Steve M. J. Janssen, Julia Kamburidis, Tina Kavčič, Nicolas O. Kervyn, Farah Khan, Aleksander Kobylarek, Mehmet Koyuncu, Yoshihiko Kunisato, David Lacko, Miguel Landa–Blanco, Linda H. Lidborg, Samuel Lins, Tetyana Mandzyk, Silvia Mari, Tiago Azevedo Marot, Martha L. Martínez-Banfi, Alan D. A. Mattiassi, Marlon Mayorga-Lascano, Moisés Mebarak, Norbert Meskó, Maria Rosa Miccoli, Vita Mikuličiūtė, Taciano L. Milfont, Katarina Mišetić, Mara Morelli, Jean Carlos Natividade, Izuchukwu L. G. Ndukaihe, Felipe Carvalho Novaes, Salma Samir Omar, Mohd Sofian Omar Fauzee, Tobias Otterbring, Barış Özener, Simon Ozer, Ju Hee Park, Irena Pavela Banai, Farid Pazhoohi, Mariia Perun, Martin Pírko, Ekaterine Pirtskhalava, Katarzyna Pisanski, Nejc Plohl, Koen S. Ponnet, Pavol Prokop, Matheus Fernando Félix Ribeiro, Frederico Rosário, Ayşegül Şahin, Fatima Zahra Sahli, Dušana Šakan, OKSANA M. SENYK, Henrik Siepelmeyer, Diana Ribeiro da Silva, Sangeeta Singh, Çağlar Solak, Sinem Söylemez, Anna Studzińska, Chee‐Seng Tan, Gulmira Tuyakovna Topanova

2025

Full text Open access: Hybrid Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.030
Data confidence 85 high
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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Infectious diseases are often associated with decline in quality of life. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between personal history of communicable, i.e., infectious and parasitic diseases and self-rated health. STUDY DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a large dataset multi-country observational study. METHODS: We used a four-pronged analysis approach to investigate whether personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases is related to self-reported health, measured with a single item. RESULTS: Three of the four analyses found a small positive effect on self-reported health among those reporting a history of pathogen exposure. The meta-analysis found no support but large heterogeneity that was not reduced by two classifications of countries. CONCLUSION: Personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases does not reduce self-reported health across a global sample.