determinants of health-related quality of life in rural elderly people of the west of iran: a population-based, cross-sectional study

Background and aims: world’s older population is growing, and attention is being directed to the improvement of their health-related quality of life (hrqol). this article was conducted to investigate the hrqol and associated factors in rural elderly residents in west of iran. methods: by using the multistage sampling method, 346 elders from rural areas of shahindezh were enrolled in this population-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 2014. to assess the hrqol of the elderly people, the leiden-padua (leipad) questionnaire was used. the economic status was classified into 3 categories (good, moderate, and low) using the principal component analysis. descriptive statistics, independent t test, anova, and spearman correlation coefficient were used to analyze data. multivariate linear regression was performed to determine predictive factors. results: the mean values and confidence intervals of total core scale and total moderator scale were 38.6 (36.7-40.6) and 31.2 (29.6-32.6), respectively. univariate analysis showed age, marital status, economic status, occupation, income source, and ethnicity were associated with hrqol (p<0.05). multivariate analysis showed the married, the illiterate, widows/widowers and the divorced, people with low economic status, and the self-employed had low hrqol with respect to total scale and total core scale models (p<0.05). conclusion: hrqol varies according to socioeconomic factors. its determinants should be addressed in social and health policies designed to improve the health of older people, especially the most vulnerable groups.