Elsevier

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics

Volume 53, Issue 3, November–December 2011, Pages 278-283
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics

The relationship between physical, functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people with a chronic disease

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2010.12.011Get rights and content

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between physical and functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people who have a chronic disease. The study included 100 elderly individuals aged 65 years and older, who have a chronic disease. The study examined the marital and educational status, social security status, kind of chronic disease, number of chronic diseases and whether participants use assistive devices for walking. The Nottingham health profile (NHP) was used to evaluate QoL related to health; the physical mobility scale (PMS) was used to evaluate mobility in daily life and the functional independent measure (FIM) was used to evaluate functional independence in daily activities. In both female and male individuals, a statistically significant difference was found between the number of chronic diseases, kind of chronic disease, educational status, marital status, total FIM, PMS and NHP values (p < 0.05). In males, there was a correlation between number of chronic illnesses and total NHP, FIM (p < 0.05), but in females, there were no correlation between number of chronic illnesses and total NHP, FIM (p > 0.05). There were no correlations between kind of chronic disease and PMS, NHP, FIM (p > 0.05) in either of genders. It was found that there are differences among elderly female and male individuals with a chronic disease in terms of the number of chronic diseases, types of chronic disease, mobility level, functional status and QoL; and mobility level is related to functional capacity and QoL in females. It is thought that the rehabilitation programs to improve physical and functional capacity in elderly people and applications that increase participation in activities and reduce pain may improve QoL.

Introduction

Old age is the last period of human life, which is unavoidable and irreversible, with unique biological, physiological, psychological and socio-economic features (Norris et al., 2008). During this period, elderly people encounter many health problems. Chronic and degenerative diseases, such as hypertension, osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and diabetes mellitus (DM) are the most frequently experienced health problems in old age (Fortin et al., 2006, Li et al., 2009). Health problems such as physical deficiencies, pain, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, dissatisfaction with life and social isolation are not specific to elderly people; however, they are among the most frequently experienced health problems in old age (Yoem et al., 2008).

A higher number of chronic diseases are consistently associated with a higher prevalence of mobility limitations (Cornoni-Huntley et al., 1991, Kriesgman et al., 2004), and longitudinally with a higher incidence of mobility loss (Guralnik et al., 1993). Most previous studies have addressed cross-sectional associations between the presence of specific chronic diseases and limitations in physical and functional status in elderly people (Peruzza et al., 2003, Ferrucci et al., 2004, Lee et al., 2006, Muszalik et al., 2009). It was found that various chronic diseases seen in elderly people affect physical and emotional dimensions of life, limit people's daily activities and cause their QoL to decrease (Kempen et al., 1999, Wandell and Tovi, 2000, Johansson et al., 2004, Franzen et al., 2007, Carillo et al., 2009).

The present study examined the relationship between physical, functional capacity and QoL among elderly people aged 65 or older who have a chronic disease. The second aim is to examine the relationship between socio-demographic factors and clinical factors (types of disease, number of diseases) in female and male elderly people.

Section snippets

Patients and methods

The present study includes 100 individuals in total (43 females, 57 males) who live in Bolu province, Turkey, and who are 65 or older. The analyses were made using face-to-face interviews. The participants who were literate were asked to complete the questionnaire form; the researcher read the questions on the form and completed the answers given by the participants who had difficulty in reading or who were not literate. The individuals who were included within the study are consisted of

Results

Of the individuals included in the study, 43 (43%) were female, 57 (57%) were male. The socio-demographic data of the participants are given in Table 1.

It was found that cardiovascular diseases are more common among males than females. The other most common health problems among women are skeletal system-related problems, diabetes, urinary or bowel problems and systemic problems; in men, the other most common health problems are musculoskeletal problems, diabetes, urinary and bowel problems,

Discussion

The average age of the individuals included in the present study is in the category of the younger olds, and the average age of men is higher than that of women. The level of education is lower in women; and the rate of overweight individuals and the rate of use of assistive devices for walking in daily life are higher in women. These results of the present study are similar to those of previous studies in the literature (Birtane et al., 2000, Çivi and Tanrikulu, 2000, Van Jaarsveld et al., 2002

Conclusions

In the present study, it was found that there are statistically significant differences between elderly male and female individuals with a chronic disease in terms of kind of disease, number of diseases, level of mobility, functional status and QoL; these differences also affect women in terms of QoL and level of daily life activities. It is thought that, in elderly people with a chronic disease, especially in women, rehabilitation programs to improve physical and functional capacity, exercises

Conflict of interest statement

None.

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