title: Social capital and quality of life in old age: results from a cross-sectional study in rural Bangladesh.
abstract: The objective of this article is to identify determinants of quality of life (QoL) and investigate their association with individual- and community-level social capital among older people in rural Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study of 1,135 elderly persons (aged >/= 60 years) was conducted in a rural district in Bangladesh. Independent variables included age, sex, education, economic status of the elderly person, and individual- and community-level social capital. Self-rated QoL was the dependent variable. Descriptive analyses were done to show group differences in QoL and logistic regression analyses to identify determinants of QoL. Advanced age, poor household economic status, and low social capital at individual and community levels were significant determinants of poor QoL among the elderly. This population-based study provided empirical evidence that social capital both at individual and community levels was directly associated with the QoL of elderly people in rural Bangladesh.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm Gerontology Research Center, Box 6401, S-113 82 Stockholm, Sweden. Jan.Nilsson@neurotec.ki.se.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: A K M Masud
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Rana
authors.forename: Zarina Nahar
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Kabir
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001459:Bangladesh; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors