Abstract
As life expectancy continues to rise, one of the
greatest challenges of public health is to improve
the quality of later years of life. The aim of this
present study was to analyze the quality of life
profile of the elderly across different demographic and socioeconomic factors. A cross-sectional
study was carried out in two stages, involving
1,958 individuals aged 60 years or more. Health
related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. The lowest scores
were found among measures for vitality, mental
health and general health and the highest among
factors including social functioning and role limitations due to emotional and physical factors.
HRQOL was found to be worse among women,
in individuals at advanced ages, those who practiced evangelical religions and those with lower
levels of income and schooling. The greatest differences in SF-36 scores between the categories
were observed in functional capacity and physical factors. The results suggest that healthcare
programs for the elderly should take into account
the multi-dimensionality of health and social
inequalities so that interventions can target the
most affected elements of HRQOL as well as the
most vulnerable subgroups of the population.
Aged; Quality of Life; Social Inequity; Questionnaires