title: Quality of life (QOL) of the community-dwelling elderly and associated factors: a population-based study in urban areas of China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  China has the most elderly people. Maintaining and improving the QOL of the elderly has emerged as a particularly important issue. This population-based study aimed to examine the QOL of the urban elderly and to clarify the associated factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was performed in Liaoning Province. The elderly people without senile dementia composed our study population and were interviewed from March to November, 2012 with questionnaires pertaining to QOL (SF-36), cognitive ability, demographic characteristics, health status, behavioral factors, and social-psychological factors. 4067 effective responses were received (effective response rate: 86.0%). After further cognitive screening, 3714 participants were included as the subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean scores of physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) were 53.7±21.5 (mean±SD) and 58.9±18.9, respectively. With adjustment for age and sex, general linear model analysis showed that, in standardized estimate (β) sequence, PCS was significantly associated with chronic disease, taking a walk, visual ability, sleeping quality, marital status, alcohol consumption, hearing ability, smoking, neighborhood relationships, filial piety, ethnicity, and regular diet, and MCS was associated with chronic disease, sleeping quality, taking a walk, visual ability, marital status, ethnicity, filial piety, regular diet, alcohol consumption, smoking, and hearing ability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The community-dwelling elderly in urban areas had a low level of QOL. To improve QOL, the maintenance of health conditions was crucial. Efforts to encourage the elderly to perform feasible exercise and develop good lifestyles should be focused on. Also, children's filial duty to their parents should be enhanced.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110013, PR China. Electronic address: sunwei80@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110013, PR China.
authors.forename: Surita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aodeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene & Public Health, Osaka Medical College, 2-7 Daigakumachi, Takatsuki City, Osaka 569-8686, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshimi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene & Public Health, Osaka Medical College, 2-7 Daigakumachi, Takatsuki City, Osaka 569-8686, Japan.
authors.forename: Misuzu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110013, PR China.
authors.forename: Jinsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110013, PR China.
authors.forename: Bowen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Noncommunicable Chronic Disease Prevention, Liaoning Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 242 Shayang Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110005, PR China.
authors.forename: Lianzheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene & Public Health, Osaka Medical College, 2-7 Daigakumachi, Takatsuki City, Osaka 569-8686, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kono
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006309:Hearing; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D011788:Quality of Life; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D016138:Walking
keywords: Elderly; Epidemiology; Health status; QOL; Taking a walk