Activities with Higher Influence on Quality of Life in Older Adults in Japan

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the influence of 10 activities on quality of life (QOL) in Japanese older adults and to verify which activities had higher influence on QOL level. The subjects were 465 Japanese community-dwelling older adults. QOL was assessed by the brief version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) and the complementary assessment to measure the QOL of older adults (WHOQOL-OLD) module. Activity and participation were measured through a questionnaire concerning frequency of engagement in several activities. The activity with the highest influence on WHOQOL-BREF was physical activity (β = 0.209, p < 0.01), followed by art activity (β = 0.169, p < 0.01) and reading and writing (β = 0.141, p < 0.01). The activity with the highest influence on WHOQOL-OLD was social activity (β = 0.222, p < 0.01), followed by reading and writing activity (β = 0.118, p < 0.05). The limitations of this study were the proportion of subjects and the place of recruitment. Further studies investigating in deep the relation between QOL and activity and participation, and other subjective and environmental factors that may influence the QOL are still needed among a higher and homogeneous subjects sample.

Leisure Activity Participation as Predictor of Quality of Life in Korean Urban-dwelling Elderly

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Quality of life and related factors among older people living in rural areas in south-eastern Poland

“…The presented study found that increase in physical activity significantly improved the QOL of older adults. Gill et al found that a higher level of physical activity determines the QOL [34] and acts as its protective factor [35]. Interventions aimed at increased activity of older adults affect their QOL positively.…”

Reading Ability and Reading Engagement in Older Adults With Glaucoma

“…1 Because reading is necessary for performing many daily tasks and achieving a number of common societal objectives (i.e., daily living, social interaction, recreation, and work), reading difficulty can cause substantial disability (defined as reduced ability compared to the norm to perform reading tasks that are important to an individual), and can be detrimental to quality of life (QOL). [2][3][4][5] Previous studies that have evaluated reading in subjects with visual impairment almost exclusively have attributed reading disability to visual acuity (VA) loss due to refractive error, cataract, or macular disease. [6][7][8] Therefore, there exists a common assumption (backed by some evidence) that reading is not affected in diseases of peripheral vision loss, such as glaucoma, especially when VA is normal.…”