title: Mental health is the most important factor influencing quality of life in elderly left behind when families migrate out of rural China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to investigate the quality of life and the associated factors on left behind elderly in rural China.
  
  
  METHODS
  the research was conducted cluster sampling to select 456 elderly left behind when family members migrated out of rural China to participate in a cross-sectional study by completing a general data questionnaire and Quality of Life questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  91.5% of the elderly requested psychological counseling and education. For the elderly, scores for mental health (39.56±13.73) were significantly lower compared with Chinese standard data (61.6±13.7) (P<0.001). Age, chronic disease type, gender, residence pattern and economic support from children were the main psychological factors influencing this population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  mental health is the most important factor influencing quality of life of elderly left behind when family members migrated out of rural China. Our study suggested a need to widely establish a general practitioner team for psychological intervention for improving rural elderly people's Quality of Life level, especially in the psychological domain.
authors.affiliation: Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Jian-fei
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Si-qing
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Zhu-qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Qi-feng
authors.initials: QF
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Sai-nan
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Business School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Jun-hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Science Department, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Jian-da
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population