Abstract
ObjectiveWe aimed to explore the correlation between functional disability and quality of life (QoL). And exploring the interaction of functional disability, basic demographic characteristics and health-related information on QoL among the rural elderly in Anhui Province.MethodsThis study used multi-stage stratified cluster sampling in rural Anhui Province from January to July 2018 to conduct a cross-sectional survey of older adults who met the inclusion criteria. The Five-Dimensional European Quality Of Health Scale (EQ-5D) and the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS2.0) scale were used to evaluate the QoL and functional disability, and the basic demographic characteristics of the survey subjects were also collected. Using binary logistic and Classification and regression tree model (CART) models to analyze the data, explore the relationship between functional disability and QoL in the elderly.ResultsA total of 3491 older adults were included in the survey, and 3336 completed the entire survey, with an effective response rate of 95.56%. After adjusting for covariables, those who had limited in dimension of mobility (AOR=2.243, 95%CI: 1.743-2.885), getting along (AOR=1.615, 95%CI: 1.173-2.226), life activities (AOR=2.494, 95%CI:1.928-3.226), and social participation (AOR=2.218, 95%CI: 1.656-2.971) had a lower QoL. However, the dimension of cognition (AOR=0.477, 95%CI: 0.372-0.613) is a protective factor for QoL. Additionally, we also observe that 96.3% of those who were unemployed and limited in both mobility and life activities dimensions had a lower QoL, but among those who were robust in both mobility and social participation dimensions and not suffer from chronic diseases, 56.3% had a higher QoL.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that special attention should be paid to the elderly who are unemployed, have limited in cognition, getting along, social participation, mobility, life activities and cognition robust to improve their QoL. This research is of great significance for formulating targeted strategies and measures to improve the QoL for rural elderly.
Highlights
Aging is one of the main health challenges faced by most countries around the world, including China
This study explores the relationship between the six dimensions of functional disability and quality of life (QoL), and further examines the combined effects of basic demographic characteristics, health-related information and functional disability on the QoL of the rural elderly in Anhui Province
Among the 621 subjects with high QoL, 59.6% (370/621 persons) were men, 57.5% (358/621 persons) were between 60-69 years old, and 44.4% (276/621 persons) were living with partners, 84.2% (523/621 people) have not been hospitalized in the past year, and 84.4% (524/621 people) income is from their own work
Summary
Aging is one of the main health challenges faced by most countries around the world, including China. As a large agricultural country, China’s rural population accounts for a large proportion of the total. In 2018, the ratio of the elderly aged 65 and over in rural areas (13.84%) was 1.22 times that of urban areas (11.35% ) [2]. A Chinese study showed that restricted by economic development, cultural and educational levels, and medical and health services, the QoL of the elderly in rural areas is poor [4]. Several studies on the elderly have found that disability is closely related to the cognitive impairment of the elderly, subjective cognitive impairment is an important factor influencing QoL [8, 9]. QoL is usually an important indicator for the government to implement policies and emphasizes the health and psychosocial welfare issues in the population [14]. Researching on QoL of the elderly will provide a basis for formulating and implementing appropriate policies and plans to improve QoL of the elderly
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