Determinants of quality of life in the elderly

Abstract

Aim: To assess the impact of selected demographic (age, sex), socio-economic (marital status, education, income) and health factors (functional status, anxiety, depression) on quality of life (QOL) of seniors in the Košice region. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: QOL was assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD questionnaires, functional status was assessed by the Barthel test Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), anxiety by the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and depression by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Relations between variables were assessed by Pearson correlation coefficients. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate QOL predictors. Results: In a sample of a hundred and two elderly people, the best QOL was found in the domain of social relationships, death and dying, and intimacy. The worst QOL was found in physical health, social participation, and past, present and future activities. QOL was reduced particularly by depression, polymorbidity, and life without a partner. The maintenance of independence in ADLs had a positive impact on most QOL domains. Conclusion:The results indicate the necessity of creating opportunities for the development and maintenance of social contacts, the involvement of seniors in various leisure activities and in different programs or voluntary activities. The screening for and treatment of depression and anxiety is very important in improving quality of life in older adults, as is maintaining and improving self-care in ADLs.

Determinants of Quality of Life and the Need for Support for the Elderly with Good Physical and Mental Functioning

“…The Psychological domain received the best score from the participants in this study, while Physical health received the lowest score. In other studies, authors also noted that the domain concerning health in its biological dimension received the lowest scores [ 10 , 24 ]. Greater differences were found in the assessment of the domain deemed to be the most satisfactory.…”

“…Greater differences were found in the assessment of the domain deemed to be the most satisfactory. Researchers usually indicate the domain of Social relationships [ 2 , 10 , 24 ] or the Environment domain [ 5 , 18 , 27 ]. Studies conducted in the United States have shown that poorer ability in activities of daily living, memory disorders and depression, and greater number of comorbidities were associated with a lower quality of life.…”

“…The group of the elderly is very diverse in terms of physical and mental functioning. Most of them are persons who are independent or capable of maintaining their own household with minor assistance [ 7 , 10 – 13 ]. Many are active participants of social life.…”

“…Elderly people usually assess their quality of life as good or better [ 3 , 4 , 6 , 18 , 27 ]. Factors affecting quality of life specifically include physical functioning and cognitive ability, depression and other comorbidities, loneliness and social functioning [ 1 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 24 , 27 – 31 ]. Sex, age, education, or marital status are of lesser importance in the elderly group [ 6 ].…”

Ageing in the Urban Context: Evidence from Sarajevo

“…Many research findings have shown that the quality of life among older people is mostly worse compared with the rest of the population due to their health status, insufficient financial resources, loneliness and social exclusion (e.g. Scharf et al 2000;Gabriel and Bowling 2004;Sováriová Soósová 2016).…”