Factors related to quality of life among middle-aged and older korean adults in 2006 and 2014: A nationally representative study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2018.06.012Get rights and content

HIGHLIGHTS

  • This study is based on two surveys of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

  • Demographics and health status influence the quality of life of older Koreans.

  • Identification of relevant factors should be useful for improving quality of life.

ABSTRACT

Factors related to quality of life (QoL) were investigated using data from middle-aged and older Korean respondents to the 2006 and 2014 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Respondents' QoL score in 2014 (6.03 ± 1.69) was lower than in 2006 (6.20 ± 2.12). All socio-demographic and health-related variables seemed to influence QoL in 2006 (R2 = 0.238) and 2014 (R2 = 0.234). Four factors significantly associated with QoL in both years were health, household income, depression, and regular exercise. Rural and mid-sized city dwellers were more likely to have a better QoL than residents of metropolitan areas; residential area had a greater influence on QoL in 2014.

Section snippets

STUDY DESIGN AND SAMPLE

The data used in this study were from the first and fifth waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Korea Employment Information Service (Korea Employment Information Service, 2016). The KLoSA was conducted to gather information about the social and economic status of middle-aged and older Koreans. Participants ≥45 years of age were selected nationwide using multi-stage stratified cluster sampling and were surveyed

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SAMPLE

The mean QoL scores of the samples were 6.20 ± 2.12 in 2006 and 6.03 ± 1.69 in 2014. Their mean age was 58.74 ± 10.66 years (range, 45–98) in 2006 and 65.09 ± 9.43 years (range, 53–105) in 2014. The rate of respondents without partners was 19.0% in 2006 and 22.9% in 2014. The proportion of residents of rural areas was 22.1% in 2006 and 22.0% in 2014. The proportion of older respondents who engaged in regular exercise was 39.4% in 2006 and 33.8% in 2014. The proportion of respondents reporting

DISCUSSION

On average, the QoL of middle-aged and older adults has declined between 2006 (6.2 points) and 2014 (6.03 points), and the standard deviation of the QoL score has decreased from 2006 (2.12) to 2014 (1.69). Owing to the characteristics of the panel study, the respondents' age in 2014 was older than 2006 survey.

Self-rated health was the most important factor related to QoL among middle-aged and older adults showing physical or mental decline in 2006 and 2014. This result is consistent with

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

The authors report no conflict of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

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