Morbidity and health-related quality of life among ambulant elderly citizens
- 1 October 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Aging Clinical and Experimental Research
- Vol. 9 (5) , 356-364
- https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03339614
Abstract
Health-related quality of life (HRQL) was analyzed in relation to 16 different diagnoses common for ambulant, community living 76-year-old urban citizens participating in the longitudinal population study of elderly in Göteborg (H 70), Sweden. HRQL of the total sample was good, but was impaired by illness, mostly in the form of anginal pain, urinary incontinence, locomotor and mental disorders. The HRQL of those suffering from e.g. chronic lung disorders or under treatment for hypertension or cancer, however, seemed to be little influenced. Sleep was impaired regardless of being ill or healthy, except for anginal pain, upper extremity disorders and back pain which had a significantly detrimental impact on sleep. The degree of female complaints surpassed those of men for pain, emotions, sleep and mobility, and for household activities and hobbies. Within the separate diagnostic groups, however, gender differences were few. Generally, HRQL decreased with multimorbidity. In the emotional and social dimensions, however, HRQL was very little influenced until health was much impaired (reaching 4 or more diagnoses). The studied diagnoses did not explain more than up to 1/3 of the QL decrease, thus suggesting that factors other than health have an impact or that ill health is considered an acceptable component of aging. However, most of the diagnoses seemed to cause much distress in common daily life, especially anginal pain, urinary incontinence, locomotor problems, visual impairment, and mental disorders.Keywords
This publication has 34 references indexed in Scilit:
- Measuring quality of life in stroke.Stroke, 1993
- Perceived Health in Hip-fracture Patients: A Prospective Follow-up of 100 PatientsAge and Ageing, 1992
- Methodologic issues in assessing the quality of life of cancer patientsCancer, 1991
- Quality of life after cancer. A policy perspectiveCancer, 1991
- Anti-anginal therapy and quality of life A comparison of the effects of transdermal nitroglycerin and long-acting oral nitratesJournal of Clinical Epidemiology, 1991
- Differences in the subjective well-being and symptoms of normotensives, borderline hypertensives and hypertensivesJournal Of Hypertension, 1989
- Effects of Treatment for Isolated Systolic Hypertension on Cognitive Status and Depression in the ElderlyJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1988
- Self-assessed disability in patients with arthrosis of the hip joint: Reliability of the Swedish version of the Nottingham Health ProfileInternational Disability Studies, 1988
- Use of the Nottingham Health Profile with patients after a stroke.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1986
- Reliability of a population survey tool for measuring perceived health problems: a study of patients with osteoarthrosis.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1981