Life quality and its influencing factors in the elderly in urban Fuzhou

ObjectiveTo know the situation of life quality and its influencing factors among the elderly in Fuzhou city and to provide scientific basis for improving the health of the elderly.MethodsWith stratified random sampling method, 3 285 people at age of 60 years or older were investigated with the MOS item short from health survey(SF-36).ResultsThe average score of the life quality of the elderly was 65.9±15.2 and the ratio for the score more than 60 was 62.2%.The score of physiological function(PF),body pain(BP),and social function(SF)was 70.7±22.1,91.3±14.3,and 75.5±21.5,respectively.The scores of all dimensions tended to descend with age(all P<0.01)and to ascend with education(all P<0.05,except role-emotional).The females had higher scores in PF and mental health(MH)than the males (P<0.05).The scores of PF,vitality(VT),SF,and MH tended to ascend with the increase of income(all P<0.05).The people with spouse had higher scores in all dimensions than those of without spouse(all P<0.05).Multiple regression analyses indicated that the main influencing factors of the life quality of the elderly were activeitis of daily living(ADL),age, family support,chronic disease,hobbies,and the main caregivers(P<0.01).ConclusionMore than 60% of the elderly in Fuzhou city had better quality of life,which was influenced by various factors.Community health services and society should focus on the elderly with poor ADL,chronic disease,high-age,low-income,poor education,and without spouse.