Quality of life in older adults according to race/color: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Increased longevity is accompanied by new social and health demands, such as the race/color social construct, indicating the need to identify the specific needs of older adults to maintain and improve their quality of life.

OBJECTIVE:

We aimed to verify the direct and indirect associations of demographic, economic, and biopsychosocial characteristics with self-assessed quality of life in older adults according to race/color.

DESIGN AND SETTING:

This cross-sectional study included 941 older adults living in the urban area of a health microregion in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

METHODS:

Older adults were divided into three groups: white (n = 585), brown (n = 238), and black (n = 102) race/color. Descriptive and trajectory analyses were performed (P < 0.05).

RESULTS:

Among the three groups, worse self-assessed quality of life was directly associated with lower social support scores and greater numbers of depressive symptoms. Worse self-assessed quality of life was also directly associated with a higher number of functional disabilities in basic activities of daily living and the absence of a partner among older adults of brown and black race/color. Lower monthly income and higher numbers of morbidities and compromised components of the frailty phenotype were observed among participants of white race/color, as well as lower levels of education in the brown race/color group.

CONCLUSION:

Factors associated with poorer self-assessed quality of life among older adults in the study community differed according to race/color.

KEY WORDS (MeSH terms):
Aged; Quality of life; Models statistical

AUTHORS’ KEY WORDS:
Race or ethnic group distribution; Older adults; Quality of life among community-dwelling older people