title: A new tool measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL): the effects of musculoskeletal pain in a group of older Turkish people.
abstract: The aims of this study were (1) to show the effects of musculoskeletal pain on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and (2) to look at gender differences in this field in elderly people living in Turkey. Subjects were 900 men and women (65 years of age or above), with a mean of 70.93+/-5.6 years. The centers for disease control (CDC) HRQOL-4 survey tool was used to measure HRQOL of the subjects. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to determine pain intensity. The subjects were also asked to indicate sites where they experienced pain in their body. Of the subjects, 72.1% reported musculoskeletal pain. The prevalence of pain was higher among women (85.5%) than men (61.8%). Pain of lower extremities was the most common in both sexes. Whereas the majority of the subjects with musculoskeletal pain reported fair-poor self-rated health, those without pain reported excellent-very good-good health. Compared with subjects who did not report pain, those with pain had increased the number of physically and mentally unhealthy days in the previous 30 days (p=0.0001). The investigators concluded that musculoskeletal pain interfered negatively with HRQOL, increasing the number of unhealthy days and decreasing physical and mental performance in the elderly participants.
authors.affiliation: Pamukkale Universitesi Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Yüksekokulu, Yeni Rektörlük Binası B Katı Kinikli Kampusu, 20070 Denizli, Turkey. Electronic address: ucavlak@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ugur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Cavlak
authors.affiliation: Pamukkale Universitesi Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Yüksekokulu, Yeni Rektörlük Binası B Katı Kinikli Kampusu, 20070 Denizli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nesrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yagci
authors.affiliation: Pamukkale Universitesi Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Yüksekokulu, Yeni Rektörlük Binası B Katı Kinikli Kampusu, 20070 Denizli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ummuhan
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bas Aslan
authors.affiliation: Ahi Evran Universitesi Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Yüksekokulu, Terme Caddesi, 40100 Kirsehir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gamze
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ekici
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018771:Arthralgia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D014421:Turkey