Changes in body weight and health-related quality-of-life in the older adult population

Abstract

BACKGROUND:No other study has ascertained the short-term impact of weight change on health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) on a national sample of older adults. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between change in body weight and HRQL among the older adult population. , and compared to those who underwent no important weight change, weight loss was associated with a clinically significant worsening in the role-physical, vitality, and social functioning SF-36 scales. Among obese women (BMIZ30 kg/m 2 ), weight gain led to a reduction in HRQL for four of the eight SF-36 scales, while weight loss was associated with worse scores in role-emotional and mental health scales. Results were usually similar for men, though of lower magnitude. In both sexes, weight change was associated with a reduction of over 5 points on several physical and mental scales of the SF-36, which indicates a clinically relevant worsening in HRQL. CONCLUSION: Weight change is associated with worse HRQL among the older adults, principally women. From the stance of HRQL, it is desirable to prevent weight gain, especially among the obese, and weight loss, especially among the nonobese.

Anthropometric measures change and quality of life in elderly people: a longitudinal population-based study in Southern Brazil

“…An important limitation of some of these results is the use of self-reported data on anthropometric measures [9,11], as it increases the likelihood of information bias [15]. Additionally, some studies exclusively investigated men [14] or women [9] using non-representative samples of the population.…”

“…Additionally, the extrapolation of these results to low-and middle-income economies is also questionable, as all the available studies were conducted in high-income countries (the USA [9], Finland [14], Spain [11], and England [2,12]). Investigating this association in the former group of countries is extremely relevant, as they are facing a faster demographic, nutritional, and epidemiological transition [17,18].…”

“…Nevertheless, in some studies, weight reduction has also demonstrated a beneficial effect on QoL among overweight elderly people [9,11].…”

“…Few longitudinal studies investigated the effect of anthropometric measures change on QoL in elderly individuals [2,9,11,12,14], showing weight gain as a determinant of lower QoL in men [14] and women [9], with an even stronger effect on physical functioning. Nevertheless, in some studies, weight reduction has also demonstrated a beneficial effect on QoL among overweight elderly people [9,11].…”

“…Studies from high-and middle-income countries identified sociodemographic characteristics (lower among women [9], the poorest, and less-educated individuals [1]) and lifestyle habits (lower among smokers [10] and those with lower physical activity levels) [3] as determinates of QoL in the elderly. Detrimental anthropometric measures change (excessive weight gain/loss or excessive abdominal fat accumulation) is another potential determinant of QoL in the elderly, in terms of its effects on health status and functional independence [2,[11][12][13].…”