Open AccessFrailty, health‐related quality of life and mental well‐being in older adults with cardiometabolic risk factors
Author(s) -
Kanauchi M.,
Kubo A.,
Kanauchi K.,
Saito Y.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1742-1241
pISSN - 1368-5031
DOI - 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2008.01830.x
Subject(s) - medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , mood , depression (economics) , gerontology , geriatric depression scale , mental health , diabetes mellitus , general health questionnaire , psychiatry , physical therapy , depressive symptoms , anxiety , nursing , economics , macroeconomics , endocrinology
Summary Objective: Frailty is an emergent health‐related problem in older adults. The aim of this study was to examine the health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) and the effect of frailty in elderly patients with cardiometabolic risk factors. Methods: One‐hundred and one patients 65 years or older responded to an HRQOL assessment using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)‐26 questionnaire. Frailty was assessed using two indices: the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged (HRCA) vulnerability index and the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES) index. In addition, these patients completed self‐rating questionnaires assessing mental well‐being [the 28‐item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐28)] and depression (Geriatric Depression Scale). Results: Based on the combination of HRCA and VES indices, 24 subjects (23.7%) met the criteria of frail. Persons ≥ 75 years old and those with depressive mood or lower creatinine clearance had significantly lower WHOQOL‐26 scores than their counterparts. Diabetes and macrovascular complications did not associate with the WHOQOL‐26 scores. Compared with non‐frail patients, the frail scored lower on the WHOQOL‐26 questionnaire after adjusting for age, kidney dysfunction and depressive mood. Frail patients also reported significantly higher the GHQ‐28 scores compared with non‐frail patients. Conclusions: Frail older adults had a significant lower HRQOL, as well as lower mental well‐being, independent of age, diabetes, macrovascular complication, kidney dysfunction and depressed mood.