Some 52.3% of the population of the Republic of Moldova said their state of health is “good or very good”, 38.2% consider it is “satisfactory”, while 9.5% believe it is “bad or very bad”, shows the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) that covered over 10,000 respondents from 153 localities, IPN reports.
This way, 56.2% of the men consider their state of health is “good or very good”, as opposed to 48.8% of women. 57.1% of the urban population believes so, as against 49.6% of the rural population. Also, 10.6% of the rural population believes their state of health is “bad or very bad”, in contrast to 7.8% of the urban population. The number of people who think their state of health is “good or very good” declines with the advancing age, while the number of persons who consider their state of health is “bad or very bad” grows.
Six in ten persons with higher education (62.7%) consider their state of health is “good or very good”, as against less than one in five persons with primary studies (48.1%) or with secondary vocational education (47.5%).
The employed people declared a “good or very good” state of health more often. The incomes are an important factor in the perception of the state of health. Almost two thirds of the oldest persons (63.6%) believe their state of health is “good or very good”, as opposed to only one third of the poorest persons (33.4%).
Almost half of the population (47.2%) considers they are “very happy or somehow happy”, without differences by sex. The happiest persons are those from the municipality of Chisinau, while the number of persons from the central region of the country who consider themselves “very happy or somehow happy” is the lowest. The state of happiness was more often declared by persons with higher education, its level depending on the occupation, family status or incomes.
About 3% of the population declared a severe degree of loneliness, without significant differences by sex and place of residence, urban or rural. The severe degree of loneliness rises together with advancing age, affecting about one in ten oldest persons.
Each eighth person (11.9%) said they experienced forms of depression the past week, with an insignificant difference by the place of residence (11.4% in urban areas and 12.2% in rural areas). The difference by sex is typical of all the age groups, being higher in the case of women than of men. The study says the adequate medical and social assistance can reduce the risk of depression.
