title: Personality, psychosocial and health-related predictors of quality of life in old age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Beyond its well-documented association with depressive symptoms across the lifespan, at an individual level, quality of life may be determined by multiple factors: psychosocial characteristics, current physical health and long-term personality traits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Quality of life was assessed in two distinct community-based age groups (89 young adults aged 36.2 ± 6.3 and 92 older adults aged 70.4 ± 5.5 years), each group equally including adults with and without acute depressive symptoms. Regression models were applied to explore the association between quality of life assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life - Bref (WHOQOL-Bref) and depression severity, education, social support, physical illness, as well as personality dimensions as defined by the Five-Factor Model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In young age, higher quality of life was uniquely associated with lower severity of depressive symptoms. In contrast, in old age, higher quality of life was related to both lower levels of depressive mood and of physical illness. In this age group, a positive association was also found between quality of life and higher levels of Openness to experience and Agreeableness personality dimensions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicated that, in contrast to young cohorts, where acute depression is the main determinant of poor quality of life, physical illness and personality dimensions represent additional independent predictors of this variable in old age. This observation points to the need for concomitant consideration of physical and psychological determinants of quality of life in old age.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Liaison Psychiatry and Crisis Intervention , University Hospitals of Geneva and Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Canuto
authors.forename: Panteleimon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giannakopoulos
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mouchian
authors.forename: Corina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meiler-Mititelu
authors.forename: Andri
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meiler
authors.forename: François R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delaloye
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghisletta
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lecerf
authors.forename: Anik
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Ribaupierre
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support
keywords: agreeableness; depressive symptoms; openness; personality; physical health; psychosocial and health-related predictors of quality of life in old age; well-being