The study examines the predictive power of self-rated health status on mortality using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-I) Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study (NHEFS) conducted from 1971 to 1984. The sample consists of 6,440 adult NHANES-I respondents aged 25-74 years, with comprehensive physical examination data and survival status at follow-up. Self-rated health is assessed through a single item asking respondents to rate their health as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Proportional hazards analyses reveal that self-rated health at the initial interview is associated with mortality over a 12-year follow-up period among middle-aged males but not among elderly males or females of any age. The study highlights the importance of self-assessments of health, which, despite being a simple and inexpensive measure, can be powerful predictors of mortality when controlled for other factors such as medical diagnoses, demographic characteristics, and health behaviors. The findings suggest that self-rated health may be particularly significant for middle-aged males, where it strongly predicts mortality, but not for other groups. The study also emphasizes the need for standardized medical examinations to provide objective measures of physical health status, which can help better isolate the impact of self-assessments on mortality.The study examines the predictive power of self-rated health status on mortality using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-I) Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study (NHEFS) conducted from 1971 to 1984. The sample consists of 6,440 adult NHANES-I respondents aged 25-74 years, with comprehensive physical examination data and survival status at follow-up. Self-rated health is assessed through a single item asking respondents to rate their health as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Proportional hazards analyses reveal that self-rated health at the initial interview is associated with mortality over a 12-year follow-up period among middle-aged males but not among elderly males or females of any age. The study highlights the importance of self-assessments of health, which, despite being a simple and inexpensive measure, can be powerful predictors of mortality when controlled for other factors such as medical diagnoses, demographic characteristics, and health behaviors. The findings suggest that self-rated health may be particularly significant for middle-aged males, where it strongly predicts mortality, but not for other groups. The study also emphasizes the need for standardized medical examinations to provide objective measures of physical health status, which can help better isolate the impact of self-assessments on mortality.