The project analyzed the association between health complaints as estimated by the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) and self perceived health. The analysis was done in two parts: (1) a master's degree thesis that explored the responses in men over 55 years of age in a case-control study, and (2) a general study of BLSA men, with a focus on how well self-perceived health predicted responses on the CMI, and how well the CMI predicted self perceived health. A moderate degree of predictability was observed, with cardiovascular/hypertension questions being the best predictors of self perceived health.
