Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Female Members and Non-members of the Elderly Support Association

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) in postmenopausal members and non-members of the elderly support association in Borujen city, Iran. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study being applied to the participants were postmenopausal women of over 55 years. Thus, 40 postmenopausal members of the elderly support association of Borujen city and 40 non-members were randomly selected. The 36 item short-form health survey (SF-36), with the 4 psychological, social, physical-movement, and environmental domains, was completed. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean total score of QOL of member of the association was significantly greater than non-members. Student's t-test showed a significant relationship between QOL and membership of the association (P < 0.05). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the mean QOL of postmenopausal women, according to membership and marital status (P < 0.01), housing (P < 0.01), and underlying disease (P < 0.01), was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, supportive measures, such as increasing the participation of the elderly in public life through proper preparations to join them and membership in peer groups such as support associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can be greatly effective in improving QOL. The results showed that the QOL of the participants was at a moderate level and membership in support associations for the elderly was effected on the QOL in postmenopausal women. Moreover, considering the importance of the elderly in the community.

[Comparative study of the physical activity among students of medical and non-medical universities of Tabriz]

Nowadays, the role of regular and continuous physical activity in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, various cancers, obesity, osteoporosis and other health problems has been widely recognized. Physical inactivity as a modifiable risk factor for a number of diseases has become a key public health concern. Many investigations have showed that physical activity levels fall significantly during the young adult period, and there is increasing concern about youth physical activity. Physical activity of the university students, as an important sector of young adults and society from which would-be policy makers and teachers will be drawn, are of particular interest. The present study was carried out to compare physical activity status among students of medical and non-medical universities of Tabriz. A descriptive comparative design was used with 384 medical and 384 non-medical university students. Demographic data and physical activity variables were collected by a self reported questionnaire. Independent sample t-test were used to compare mean scores of physical activity between two groups of students, and two-way ANOVA test were used to determine the relationship between students' socio-demographic variables and physical activity. The findings showed that 39.84% of medical and 37.24% of non-medical university students had risky physical activity status and only 6.51% of medical and 5.99% of non-medical university students had appropriate physical activity status. There was no statistically significant difference between mean scores of physical activity of two groups. Also, 81.3% of medical and 85.2% of non-medical university students desired to increase the level of their physical activity. Although the majority of both medical and non-medical students had inactivity style, there was desire to increase physical activity level. It is necessary that the university policy makers provide programs to aware eh students about inactivity risks, establish motivation and allocate possibilities for increasing the students' physical activity levels. Modifying attitude and practice toward physical activity and physical exercise in university students, especially in medical university students as the community health messengers, is crucial in promotion of mobility and physical exercise of community