Investigation of Lifestyle and Its Related Factors in the Elderly Population in Qom City, 2017 (Iran).

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Common diseases of aging are preventable by observing the healthy lifestyle. It is of great importance to assess the lifestyle of the elderly in order to prevent diseases and improve their quality of life and health status. In this study, the lifestyle and its related factors, were investigated in the elderly population in Qom city.   Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study, was conducted by cluster sampling on 134 elderly people referring to medical health care centers of Qom city in 2017. Data were collected using demographic characteristics questionnaire and Iranian Elderly Lifestyle questionnaire. Data were analyzed by one way ANOVA and independent t-test.   Results: The mean score of elderly people's lifestyle from the range of 42-211, was 179.55±19.64, which is indicative of desirable lifestyle. The lifestyle of 122 elderly people (91%), was estimated to be desirable and in 12 elderly people (9%) was average. There were significant difference between elderly people’ lifestyle in terms of marital status, coexistence status, and economic and education level (p≤0.05). The mean score of lifestyle in prevention, nutrition, stress management, and social and interpersonal relationships were higher in men compared to women.   Conclusion: Given the results of this study, although the lifestyle of most elderly people in Qom city, was desirable, the lower scores of elderly women compared to the men, showed the necessity of applying appropriate interventions to improve lifestyle in elderly women.

Keywords

• life style
• aging
• related factors