Nationwide survey of the health status and quality of life of elderly Thais attending clubs for the elderly.

ABSTRACT

Thailand is seen as a developing Southeast Asian country with a fast-growing number of senior citizens. Meanwhile, they are also encouraged to attend a local club for the elderly for the sake of health promotion and disease prevention. Knowledge of the quality of life as well as the health status of elderly people in this setting would be invaluable for further planning. 1811 individuals from 66 provinces, who attended clubs for the elderly were recruited. Structured questionnaires with detailed instructions were distributed to clubs for the elderly nationwide. 61.4 per cent had a good quality of life. The independent factors determining poor quality of life were as follows not living with a spouse, poor financial status, no regular exercise, sleeping or hearing difficulty, not taking milk regularly, suffering from joint pain or diabetes mellitus, history of a fall within the last 6 months and a poor mobility score and score of instrumental activities of daily living. No regular exercise had the highest adjusted odds ratio (2.38 95% CI 1.61-3.51). The main factors determining a poor quality of life in any region of the country were socioeconomic background in the northern region, having less exercise and joint pain in the eastern part and diabetes mellitus in the western region. Conclusion: All these factors should be part of the geriatric assessment among elderly Thais. Socioeconomic factors could be employed to screen for those who are at risk while the other reversible factors should be highlighted and treated properly in order to reduce the outcomes of poor quality of life in those attending clubs for the elderly.