The Relationship between Health-Related Behaviors and Quality of Life in the Retired Elderly People in Shiraz, Iran in 2014

Abstract

Background: Aging phenomenon is one of the most important economic, social, and health challenges in the twenty-first century. Regarding the growth of the elderly population and the importance of their life quality, this study was designed to assess the relationship between health-related behaviors and quality of life in the retired elderly people in Shiraz, Iran 2014 Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted in Shiraz, Iran 2014 on 500 retired elderly people in the state retirement centers. The sampling method was stratified random sampling. Data gathering instrument was Iranian version of the SF-36 questionnaire. Data were analyzed by T- test, ANOVA and the multiple regressions using SPSS 21. Results: 268 men (53.6%) and 232 women (46.4%) with the mean age 73.9 ± 8.0 entered in the study. The mean ± SD of the total score of the life quality was 50.88 ± 17.01, the mean ± SD of the physical and mental dimension was 49.12 ± 20.22, 52.71 ± 17.81 respectively. There was a significant difference between quality of life and Variables of sex, age, education, marital status, income and life style (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, the overall quality of life in the elderly is relatively good. However, teaching the elderly people how to live healthy might help prevent many of their problems and take steps to improve their quality of life.