Elderly quality of life and co-morbidity in Iran

Introduction: Elderly population and longer life expectancy are a glorious achievement for humans, and they are also a huge victory for public health care. Actually, this achievement is the result of economic and social development, and it is one of the biggest challenges of our time too. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of demographic factor and co-morbidity on elderly quality of life (QOL) and to investigate the possible risk factors that disrupt QOL. Materials and methods: This is an analytical-descriptive and cross-sectional study. 216 elderly people (60 years and above) suffering from a minimum of two diseases were selected by the simple classified random sampling method. For data collection researchers used a demographic information and LEIPAD QOL questionnaire. Results: Using Binary Logistic Regression Analysis, the poor QOL was higher in females than males, (OR=5.08, CI%95=1.69–15.25) and among self-employed than unemployed (OR=7.42, CI%95=1.90–33.00). The elderly people with higher co-morbidity rates had a poorer QOL comparing to those who had a lower co-morbidity (OR=6.66, C1%95=2.27–19.57). The QOL was higher in subjects owning a private house than those without it (OR=0.17, CI %95=0.04–0.76). There was no significant association between the other study variables and the QOL. Conclusion: According to the results, the elderly QOL was related to different variables such as co-morbidity, gender, job and residence which could be considered by health authorities to define priorities in a strategic planning.

کلیدواژه ها:

LEIPAD ، Quality of life ، Elderly ، Co-morbidity