title: Health-related quality of life and related factors among elderly people in Jinzhou, China: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With rapid reductions in fertility and mortality, China has to face the dramatic ageing of its population. Although an ageing population is associated with greater life expectancy, and reflects a huge improvement in people's living standards and health care services, it also means that more elderly people suffer from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The prolonged course of illness and disability associated with chronic diseases may significantly reduce health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among elderly people. The aims of this study were to evaluate HRQoL of elderly people living in Jinzhou, and to identify the predictors of HRQoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study with stratified sampling.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1015 elderly people (≥60 years) living in the three administrative regions (Linghe, Guta and Taihe) of Jinzhou. A demographic questionnaire and Short Form-36 were employed to collect demographic variables and evaluate HRQoL, respectively. Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis was performed to estimate factors related to HRQoL of the subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lowest HRQoL scores were obtained in the following dimensions: general health (65.44), role-emotional (69.74) and role-physical (70.20). Multiple stepwise regression showed that factors associated with HRQoL of elderly people were medical health checks, age, socio-economic status, NCDs, and various unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, excessive drinking and insufficient exercise.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study described overall HRQoL of elderly people in Jinzhou, and found that medical health checks, age, socio-economic status, NCDs, smoking, excessive drinking and insufficient exercise affected HRQoL. These findings will provide a basis for recommendations regarding health management of elderly people, and will also help local government to devise appropriate health intervention strategies for promoting the health status of elderly people in this region.
authors: Department of Community Health Nursing, Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, PR China.
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Dai
authors: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, PR China.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Jia
authors: Department of Community Health Nursing, Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, PR China. Electronic address: LiuKun60@hotmail.com.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Elderly; HRQoL; SF-36