Components and determinants of quality of life in community-dwelling older adults

The objectives of this study are to detect the main components of global quality of life (QoL) of community-dwelling older adults from their own perspective and to identify determinants of health-related and global QoL in the same population. This is a cross-sectional study covering a representative...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez-Martín, Pablo, Prieto-Flores, María Eugenia, Forjaz, Maria João, Fernández-Mayoralas, Gloria, Rojo Pérez, Fermina, Rojo Abuín, José Manuel, Ayala, Alba
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/337093
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/337093
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Global quality of life
Health-related quality of life
Community-dwelling
Older adults
Multimethod data
Descripción
Sumario:The objectives of this study are to detect the main components of global quality of life (QoL) of community-dwelling older adults from their own perspective and to identify determinants of health-related and global QoL in the same population. This is a cross-sectional study covering a representative sample of 1,106 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older residing in Spain. The survey collected information on QoL through a face-to-face interview asking for QoL components in free-format, as well as the completion of two QoL measures, the EQ-5D and the Personal Wellbeing Index. The most important QoL dimensions, according to the participants of this study, were health, family, and finances. Depression was the main determinant of both QoL indices, while functional independence and social support specifically influenced health-related and global QoL, respectively. Based on the perspective of the older adults as well as on statistical analysis, this work emphasizes the importance of health, family, and social support as areas of special interest in aging. There was a discrepancy when comparing findings related to the importance of financial status. Results also support that global and health-related QoL share some common determinants, but with different weights for functional independence and social support.