[Predictive value of the quality of life questionnaire in the elderly].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the predictive value of the quality of life (QOL) questionnaire at 8 years and analyse which of its 5 dimensions better predict adverse results in health.


METHODS
Descriptive, longitudinal, and retrospective study.


METHODS
Three basic health areas in Cuenca province, Spain.


METHODS
We randomly selected 519 subjects over 64 years, taking addresses in which more than 1 person over 64 years resided as a sample marker.


METHODS
The QOL questionnaire was used to evaluate the quality of life of the subjects in 1994 and in 2002. Main results. Between 1994 and 2002, 25% of the participants died, 2.6% were institutionalised and there 3.6% losses. The QOL questionnaire has a mortality predictive capacity at 8 years, the cut off point of its global index being situated around 13 points. The sensitivity of the model is poor (41.5%), with a high specificity (93.5%) and a good classification percentage of 80.3%. The positive and negative probability ratios were 6.36 and 0.62, respectively. Using a Cox regression model, it is seen that of the 5 dimensions of the QOL test, activities of daily living show a relationship with mortality (risk ratio or OR=1.3; 95% confiance interval [CI], 1.049-1.611), mental health (OR=1.048; 95% CI, 1.054-1.620), and economic resources (OR=0.806; 95% CI, 0.648-1.003).


CONCLUSIONS
The QOL questionnaire has a mortality predictive capacity at 8 years.
Ceresuela López
Amelia
A
Centro de Salud de Landete. Cuenca. España. ameliaceresuela@terra.es
Lorente Aznar
Teófilo
T
Abad Díez
José M
JM
Cuerda Segurola
Carmen
C
Rodríguez Rodríguez
Belén
B
Rubio Rubio
Saúl
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004467:Economics; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009026:Mortality; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011336:Probability; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors