Factors associated to quality of life in active elderly.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze whether quality of life in active, healthy elderly individuals is influenced by functional status and sociodemographic characteristics, as well as psychological parameters.


METHODS
Study conducted in a sample of 120 active elderly subjects recruited from two open universities of the third age in the cities of São Paulo and São José dos Campos (Southeastern Brazil) between May 2005 and April 2006. Quality of life was measured using the abbreviated Brazilian version of the World Health Organization Quality of Live (WHOQOL-bref) questionnaire. Sociodemographic, clinical and functional variables were measured through crossculturally validated assessments by the Mini Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale, Functional Reach, One-Leg Balance Test, Timed Up and Go Test, Six-Minute Walk Test, Human Activity Profile and a complementary questionnaire. Simple descriptive analyses, Pearson's correlation coefficient, Student's t-test for non-related samples, analyses of variance, linear regression analyses and variance inflation factor were performed. The significance level for all statistical tests was set at 0.05.


RESULTS
Linear regression analysis showed an independent correlation without colinearity between depressive symptoms measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale and four domains of the WHOQOL-bref. Not having a conjugal life implied greater perception in the social domain; developing leisure activities and having an income over five minimum wages implied greater perception in the environment domain.


CONCLUSIONS
Functional status had no influence on the Quality of Life variable in the analysis models in active elderly. In contrast, psychological factors, as assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale, and sociodemographic characteristics, such as marital status, income and leisure activities, had an impact on quality of life.
Alexandre
Tiago da Silva
Tda S
Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade de Taubaté, Taubaté, SP, Brasil. tsfisioalex@gmail.com
Cordeiro
Renata Cereda
RC
Ramos
Luiz Roberto
LR
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires