Synthetic image evolution for affective science.

Self-rated health (SRH) is a widely used measure in diverse survey contexts, as it provides a single subjective indicator that has been consistently associated with mortality, healthcare utilization, and various health outcomes []. This health indicator, understood as an individual’s self-assessment of their overall health status, is not merely an individual construct. Rather, it represents a multidimensional process shaped and reproduced through interpersonal and social interactions []. This perspective aligns with the psychological theory of intersubjectivity, which posits that differences in subjective perceptions emerge primarily from social contexts rather than individual attributes []. Among individuals with similar sociodemographic profiles, understandings of health tend to converge, a dynamic explained by social comparison processes []. Such comparisons may help clarify why older adults often evaluate their health more positively: the normalization of age-related limitations can lead to more favourable self-assessments []. Health inequity literature describes a gradient in health: those with better social positions within social structures are more likely to have better health status. Disadvantaged groups, particularly women with lower educational levels, tend to exhibit less favourable objective health profiles than their more advantaged counterparts []. Paradoxically, a “reporting bias” has been described: even when facing similar objective health challenges, disadvantaged individuals are less likely to categorise their health as “poor” than their more advantaged counterparts, despite their higher risks of early-onset chronic diseases, functional disabilities at younger ages, and reduced life expectancy [–]. Our analysis focuses on adults aged 30 to 60. This choice responds to the fact that in previous research the relationship between objective health and self-rated health have focused on older populations, who typically exhibit greater heterogeneity in health status [, ]. Since health inequalities emerge through processes unfolding across the life course, examining these dynamics among individuals in their working ages may enhance our understanding of inequity patterns and help inform policies aimed at mitigating them.