The factors associated with quality of life and depression score in adults aged 65 and over

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of elderly population with the improvement of living conditions and the acquisition of healthy life behaviors in Türkiye. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the quality of life of the elderly and the affecting factors. Methods: Our study is planned with a descriptive and cross-sectional design. Quality of life of the participants was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Old module (WHOQOL-OLD), whereas depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: Their mean total score on the WHOQOL-OLD module was 56.64 ± 15.57. The total quality of life score was found to be significantly lower among females, elderly, illiterate and those who lacked a regular monthly income, who perceived their health status to be worse than that in the previous year, who considered themselves very old and who suffered from chronic diseases (p ˂ 0.001). The mean score of the participants on the Geriatric Depression Scale was 14.59±5.27, whereas the frequency of depression was 56.5%. There was a negative and significant relationship between depression and quality of life scores (p˂0.001, r=0.658). Conclusion: In our study, the indicators, dimensions, and measurement of quality of life and levels of depression in old age are presented. Additionally, factors influencing the perceptions of aging among the elderly and the individual perspective on aging, as well as their associations with depression, are discussed. Keywords: Elderly, Aging, Quality of life, Depression, Perception of aging, Geriatric Depression Scale