title: Predictors of health related quality of life in older people with non-communicable diseases attending three primary care clinics in Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the health related quality of life and its predictive factors among older people with non-communicable diseases attending primary care clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three public primary care clinics in a district in Selangor, Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Registered patients aged 55 years and above.
  
  
  METHODS
  A face-to-face interview was conducted using a validated questionnaire of Medical Outcome Study 36-item short form health survey (SF-36). The outcome measure was the health related quality of life (HRQoL) and other factors measured were socio demography, physical activity, social support (Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire), and presence of non-communicable diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 347 participants had non-communicable diseases which included hypertension (41.8%), type 2 diabetes (33.7%), asthma (4.8%), hyperlipidaemia (1.7%), coronary heart disease (1.2%), and osteoarthritis (0.2%). Age ≥ 65 years old (OR =2.23; 95%CI=1.42, 3.50), single (OR=1.75; 95%CI=1.06,2.90), presence of co-morbid condition (OR=1.66; 95%CI=1.06, 2.61), and poorer social support (OR=2.11; 95%CI=1.27, 3.51; p=0.002) were significant predictors of poorer physical component of HRQoL . In predicting lower mental health component of HRQoL, the significant predictors were women (OR=2.28; 95%CI=1.44, 3.62), Indian ethnicity (OR=1.86; 95%CI=1.08, 3.21) and poorer social support (OR=2.71; 95%CI=1.63, 4.51). No interactions existed between these predictors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older people with non-communicable diseases were susceptible to lower health related quality of life. Increasing age, single, presence of co-morbid conditions, and poorer social support were predictors of lower physical health component of HRQoL. While the older women, Indian ethnicity and poorer social support reported lower mental health component of HRQoL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Sazlina
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zaiton
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Nor Afiah
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hayati
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006262:Health; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008603:Mental Health; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires