Factors associated with disability and quality of life among the oldest-old living in community in Poland – a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction.In Poland, the number of the oldest-old people is increasing. The prevalence of health problems increases with age, which expands the cost of medical and social care. Therefore, there is a need to assess factors affecting the level of disability and quality of life in order to modify them. Materials and method. The study was carried out in a group of 498 people aged 80 and over who live in community in south-eastern Poland. The researchers collected socio-demographic and health data, the WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire was used to assess disability and functioning. Quality of life was studied using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Results. The general average level of disability was 37.41, with women having a higher level of general disability than men (38.94 vs. 33.94). The highest levels of disability occurred in areas such as mobility, life activity and participation. Statistically, a significantly higher level of disability develops in women who are older, with lower education, social involvement, not able to get help from other people and having more chronic diseases. In men, disability increased with age and greater number of chronic illnesses. The general quality of life of the study group was average (62.53) and comparable for both genders. The lowest quality of life was found in the domain of physical health. A significantly lower quality of life appeared in lonely people, with more chronic diseases, lower education, physical and social inactivity, as well as a lack of help from other people and non-adjustment to the environment. Conclusion.Factors affecting the disability and quality of life of the oldest-old people should be considered in developing senior health policy in Poland.

Inadequate Intake of Energy and Nutrients Is Common in Older Family Caregivers

“…One study with stroke patients found an association between the total scores of WHOQOL-BREF and nutritional status [ 44 ], and one study on an older population found an association between psychological well-being (one part of the WHOQOL-BREF) and nutritional status [ 45 ]. Throughout quality of life, nutritional status has a multilateral connection to comprehensive health, such as the burden of care [ 46 ], physical health [ 47 , 48 ], morbidity [ 49 ], and mortality [ 50 ], as well as its own connection to these health outcomes.…”

Morbidades e associações com autoavaliação de saúde e capacidade funcional em idosos

“…At the study conducted by Ćwirlej-Sozańska, with 498 oldest old people, the women showed higher level of dependence than men, besides a greater number of chronic diseases. Other variables were related with lower functional capacity, such as: advanced age, lower level of schooling and social activities, lack of social support, lack of good adaptation of external environment to their needs and higher number of chronic diseases 30 . Such results reveal the multidimensionality of functional capacity and it can be thought that gender inequality in functional disability is mainly explained by the distribution of socioeconomic factors by gender and then health policy and programs aimed at reducing gender differences in socioeconomic resources might mitigate inequality.…”

Association between social network and functional disability in brazilian elderly

“…ADL, on the other hand, are tasks of daily self-care, essential to human survival, such as dressing, eating, bathing, among others (6)(7) . The occurrence of functional disability has been associated with dependence, worsening quality of life, reduced life expectancy, increased mortality, greater use and costs with health services, especially with prolonged hospitalizations and readmissions (8)(9)(10) .…”

“…The social network consists of social relationships, interactions and links between individuals, being related to health and psychosocial mechanisms (13) . They are important determinants of active and successful aging (16) and the quality of life of elderly people (8) . Social networks can be divided into informal networks, which derive from bonds with friends and relative and formal networks, in which bonds are derived from social participation in leisure or in social production activities, such as paid or voluntary work (13) .…”

“…There are also controversies about the role of sex in the association between social network and functional disability (8,14) . Studies show that the effect of not having social relationships for the occurrence of functional decline, especially for the performance of IADLs, is stronger for women (14)(15) .…”