Physical, nutritional and psychological states interfere with health related quality of life of institutionalized elderly

AbstractPurpose Nursing home elders experience many problems that may influence their quality of life, in example of cognitive, mental, nutritional and physical disabilities. Concerning about elders’ wellbeing may help them living with dignity. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of institutionalized elders in a capital city of Brazilian Northeast. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 193 institutionalized elders living in the metropolitan region of João Pessoa (Brazil). The following variables were tested regarding their association with the elders’ HRQoL: Socio-demographic characteristics; Performance of daily-living activities, Frailty status, Cognitive status, Nutritional status, Self-perception of oral health and Depression status. Hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regressions analyses were performed in order to assess the impact of each independent variable on HRQoL, considering a significance level of 5%. Results The mean (SD) and the median of HRQoL of institutionalized elders were 62.69(15.24) and 62, respectively. Elderly were mostly (72.02%) female, being those with 80 years and over the more frequent (54.92%). Dependence on daily activities (OR=2.06, 95%CI=1.32-3.23), frailty (OR=1.68, 95%CI=1.15-2.45) and depression (OR=2.22, 95%CI=1.51-3.27) were statistically associated with poor HRQoL (p<0.05). Other variables have no significance within the adjusted model. Conclusions Dependent, frail and depressed institutionalized elderly presented a greater chance to have a worse HRQoL. It is necessary to plan and implement actions that would reduce the factors associated with the low quality of life of institutionalized elderly.