Quality of Life of the Elderly during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asian Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study across Six Countries

Abstract

Background: Few studies have explored the determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Identifying these factors may help implement appropriate policies to enhance HRQoL in the elderly. Therefore, we aimed to identify the predictors of physical and mental component summary (PCS and MCS) scores of HRQoL in selected six low- and middle-income Asian countries. Methods: We conducted an online survey of older people aged ≥55 years in six countries: Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Palestine, and Sri Lanka. The Stark QoL questionnaire was used to measure the PCS and MCS scores. Univariate and multiple variable analyses after adjusting for confounders were performed to identify the possible predictors of PCS and MCS. Results: A total of 1644 older people (69.1 ± 7.8 years, range 55–97 years, Female: 50.9%) responded to the survey. We documented age, country of residence, marital status, number of male children, current employment status, and health insurance, ability to pay household bills, frequency of family members visits and receiving support during COVID-19 pandemic predicted both PCS and MCS. However, gender, residence, and number of female children were associated with PCS only (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Socio-demographic factors such as age, country of residence, marital status, number of male children, current employment status, health insurance, ability to pay household bills, frequency of family members visiting family members, and receiving support during the COVID-19 pandemic affecting both physical and mental quality of life. These results can guide formulating health care planning policies to enhance QoL during COVID-19 and future pandemics in the elderly.

Adapted digital health literacy and health information seeking behavior among lower income groups in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Studies have unanimously agreed that COVID-19 has severe health repercussions, including quality of life ( 14 ), mental health ( 15 – 19 ), and psychological distress ( 20 – 25 ). Misinformation and vaccine efficacy also impacted the global COVID-19 vaccination program, driving vaccine hesitancy ( 26 – 28 ).…”

Post-COVID-19 condition is not only a question of persistent symptoms: structured screening including health-related quality of life reveals two separate clusters of post-COVID

“…We demonstrated that the QoL in the entire cohort differed only marginally from the normal population, thus indicating that a substantial proportion of SARS-CoV-2-infections heal without long-term sequelae, in agreement with the results of several other studies [ 3 , 18 – 20 ]. We observed only a slight decrease in the role emotional dimension in the participants, possibly as a result of the general measures in managing the COVID-19 pandemic [ 21 ]. This finding is in line with the results of several other studies reporting a decline in QoL among COVID-19-survivors, depending on sociodemographic factors and belief in the negative effects of recent SARS-CoV-2-infection [ 22 ], which has also been observed in family members of ICU COVID-19-survivors [ 23 ].…”

Digital health literacy for COVID-19 vaccination and intention to be immunized: A cross sectional multi-country study among the general adult population

“…These measures were effective in reducing both transmission and the overall burden of COVID-19 disease (1). However, research has conclusively shown that COVID-19 has severe health effects including quality of life (2), mental health (3-7), and psychological distress (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13).…”