Chronic conditions and lifestyle behaviors have a detrimental influence on the quality of life for seniors because of physical disability and emotional concerns. This study aimed to assess the influence of chronic illness, smoking, and alcohol use on quality of life among Thai seniors. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three communities, selected purposively from the North, Northeast, and Central regions, and 1278 senior participants were recruited. Binary logistic regression was used to predict the influence of factors on quality of life with adjusted covariates. Most participants were aged 60–70 years and married, earned 500–1,000 Baht/month (US $17–$35), had one chronic illness, and were nonsmokers and nondrinkers. Surprisingly, there appeared to be no link between chronic conditions and quality of life. Current drinkers were more likely to have a high quality of life, with Odds Ratios of 2.16 for men and 2.73 for women. Seniors of both genders who were current drinkers were more likely to accept death and dying and this improved their quality of life. Social participation in alcohol consumption may encourage seniors to share their concerns about death and dying and eventually accept this as a foundation of life.

BackgroundThe increasing number of older people is a significant issue in Thailand, resulted in growing demands of health and social welfare services. The study aim was to explore the influence of socioeconomic factors on activities of daily living and quality of life of Thai seniors.Design and methodsUsing randomised cluster sampling, one province was sampled from each of the Central, North, Northeast and South regions, then one subdistrict sampled in each province, and a household survey used to identify the sample of 1678 seniors aged 60 years and over. The Mann-Whitney U-test and binary logistic regression were used to compare and determine the association of socioeconomic variables on quality of life and activities of daily living.ResultsThe findings showed that sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors were significantly related to functional capacity of daily living. Education levels were strongly associated with daily life activities, with 3.55 adjusted ORs for respondents with secondary school education. Gender was important, with females comprising 61% of dependent respondents but only 47% of independent respondents. Seniors with low incomes were more likely to be anxious in the past, present and future and less likely to accept death in the late stage, with 1.40 Adjusted ORs (95%CI: 1.02-1.92), and 0.72 (95%CI: 0.53-0.98), respectively. However, they were more likely to engage in social activities.ConclusionsWhile socioeconomic factors strongly indicated the functional capacity to live independently, a good quality of life also required other factors leading to happiness and life satisfaction.Significance for public healthIncreasing numbers of ageing population raise a public health concern in Thai society due to the increasing demands of medical and health services regarding chronic diseases and disability. Unfortunately, few studies have mentioned socioeconomic factors on daily living activities and quality of life and none has taken place across regions in Thailand. Epidemiological population-based studies are necessary to identify social determinants and potential contributing factors that influence quality of life and disability which in turn, may utilise information shaping the policy through better support and care.

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