Interrelationships among common symptoms in the elderly and their effects on health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study in rural Korea

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Research

Younghwa Baek¹  Kihyun Park¹  Siwoo Lee¹  Sujeong Mun¹  Jong-hyang Yoo¹ 

[1] Mibyeong Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, 305-811, Daejeon, Republic of Korea;

关键词: Health-related quality of life;    Elderly;    Fatigue;    Pain;    Sleep disturbance;    Indigestion;    Depression;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12955-016-0549-9

 received in 2015-12-07, accepted in 2016-10-01,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBecause the world population is aging, it has become increasingly important to focus on and meet the healthcare needs of elderly individuals. This study aims to evaluate the relationships among common symptoms experienced by the elderly, including fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, indigestion, and depression/anger/anxiety, and to assess how these symptoms affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the elderly population after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and diagnosed diseases.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study conducted in 2014 in a rural area of Korea, we extracted data on 1328 elderly individuals aged 60 years or older. Their HRQoL was assessed using the EuroQol Five-Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire. The pairwise associations between each symptom and the influence of the symptoms on HRQoL were measured using logistic regression and multiple regression analysis.ResultsEach symptom was positively correlated with the other symptoms. The strongest association was observed between fatigue and pain (adjusted odds ratio = 8.127), and the weakest correlation was observed between sleep and indigestion (adjusted odds ratio = 2.521). Of the individuals experiencing symptoms other than sleep disturbance, those who reported comorbid symptoms tended to report higher symptom severity and a higher prevalence of symptoms persisting for ≥ 3 days compared with individuals who reported only one symptom. The number of symptoms was significantly correlated with the EQ-5D index (Spearman correlation coefficient = −0.370, p < 0.01) and the EQ Visual Analog Scale (EQ VAS) scores (Spearman correlation coefficient = −0.226, p < 0.01). Fatigue, pain, and sleep disturbance showed negative effects on all dimensions of EQ-5D. In multiple regression analysis, fatigue (β = −0.073, p < 0.01), pain (β = −0.140, p < 0.01), sleep disturbance (β = −0.061, p < 0.05), and depression/anger/anxiety (β = −0.065, p < 0.05) showed significant independent effects on the EQ-5D index when we adjusted for socioeconomic characteristics and diagnosed diseases.ConclusionsFatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, and depression/anger/anxiety were correlated with one another, and they presented significant independent effects on the HRQoL of elderly individuals. Thus, multidisciplinary healthcare programs are required to address these common symptoms.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016