• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.400-407
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• 2008

A health index was proposed that evaluates personal health state from both measured physiological variables and survey questions. Four health indices were defined such as cardiovascular index, stress index, obesity index, and management index. The total health index was calculated by summing these four health indices. Physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate variability(HRV), accelerated photoplethysmograph(APG), and body fat percentage were non-invasively measured and a survey questionnaire that asks personal health state, exercise intensity, and food preference was developed. The suggested health index was applied to thirty eight persons including 30 patients and 8 normal persons with an average age of 51.8. The average health index was estimated to be 75.1 out of 100 points. Young age group(below 50) and men group showed higher health indices than the aged(over 50) and women groups. The correlation coefficient between the cardiovascular index and stress index was found to be 0.513, which means stress is related to cardiovascular health state. The correlation coefficient between the measurements and survey questions was 0.385 for the cardiovascular index. It was as low as 0.182 for the stress index. More case studies may improve correlations between measurements and survey questions, and then, the current health index system may develop as an effective tool to evaluate personal health state.