Associations among health-promoting lifestyle, self-care agency and health-related quality of life in Bai older adults with hypertension in Yunnan China.

BACKGROUND: Previous Chinese studies focused on the prevalence and influential factors of hypertension; however, little is known about their self-care literacy and quality of life among the Bai older adults with hypertension. The purpose of this research was to explore the associations among health-promoting lifestyle, self-care agency, and health-related quality of life in Bai ethnic older patients with hypertension, as well as the related factors of hypertension self-care abilities. METHODS: A total of 472 Bai ethnic hypertension older adults aged 60 and above were enrolled in this study voluntarily from 5 rural communities of the Bai ethnic group. The Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCAS) was employed to assess the Self-care ability of hypertension for the subjects, the Health-promoting lifestyle profile II(HPLP-II) was utilized to evaluate the health behavior, and MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was chosen to assess the HRQOL for the studying population. All descriptive analyses, including demographic characteristics, socio-economic status, and clinical characteristics were stratified by Bai hypertensive elderly. Pearson correlation analysis model was used to examine the associations among health-promoting lifestyle, self-care agency, and health-related quality of life in Bai ethnic elderly with hypertension. RESULTS: The HPLP-II, ESCA, and of HRQOL levels of the subjects were low, and the mean HPLP and ESCA scores had no significant statistical variance among different age groups. Significant statistical differences were found in Bai elderly subjects in the domain of PF and PH as well as the overall score in SF-36(all P< 0.01), 60-64 year group had the highest score of the above three domains in SF-36 than other age groups. The SF-36 scores were positively associated with HPLP and ESCA levels. CONCLUSION: The HPLP-II, ESCA, and of HRQOL levels of the Bai subjects were poor in the Bai ethnic hypertensive elderly. The HRQOL scores of subjects were positively connected with HPLP-II and ESCA abilities. More attention should be paid to lifestyle, healthy behaviors, and self-care abilities improvements to enhance the better HRQOL of Bai minority older adults with hypertension.

Comparison of health-related quality of life between the Han and Yi ethnicity elderly in the Yi autonomous areas of Yunnan Province.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this research was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and functional abilities of Yi and Han elderly who resided in Yi Autonomous prefecture or Counties in Yunnan Province, as well as to compare their differences in HRQOL, functional abilities and other factors. METHODS: A total of 1636 older subjects, which included 863 Han and 773 Yi, were recruited from 10 Yi Autonomous regions. Their HRQOL and functional capabilities were assessed by the MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), activities of daily living (ADL), and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales. RESULTS: The Han elderly performed better in every domain of SF-36 than the Yi elderly. Both of the two ethnic groups could perform their ADL independently but the Yi elderly showed greater dependency in IADL abilities. The HRQOL was positively associated with their ADL, IADL, and education levels. Moreover, age, health insurance status, and living arrangement were negatively correlated with HRQOL. CONCLUSION: The HRQOL and IADL capabilities of the Han elderly were higher than that of the Yi counterparts in the Yi Autonomous regions. The HRQOL of both the two ethnic groups was positively connected with ADL, IADL abilities as well as education levels, whereas it was negatively correlated with age and health insurance. The elderly-care policy on the Yi autonomous areas should focus more on the HRQOL, ADL improvement, education background, age needs, and health insurance, etc.

Association among activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and health-related quality of life in elderly Yi ethnic minority.

BACKGROUND: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the elderly population of Yi ethnic minority, which is the seventh largest nationality in China, has been rarely reported. This study was designed to explore the HRQoL of the elderly Yi ethnicity and association between their HRQOL and functional abilities. METHODS: A total of 291 Yi ethnic residents were randomly recruited from 12 rural counties in Yunnan province and divided into different age groups. Local residents in Yunnan province and the elderly from Hangzhou were enrolled as controls. The MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales were utilized to evaluate the HRQoL and functional ability. One-way ANOVA was used to statistically compare the ADL and IADL among different age groups. The influential variables on HRQOL were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the association among HRQoL, ADL and IADL. RESULTS: The HRQoL of the elderly Yi minority was significantly lower than those of local residents in Yunnan province and the elderly counterparts in Hangzhou. The IADL ability of the elderly Yi minority was low, whereas they could perform most items of ADL. ADL, IADL, and education level were positively associated with HRQoL, whereas age, chronic diseases, and the frequency of medication use were negatively correlated with HRQoL. CONCLUSION: The HRQoL and functional capacity of the elderly Yi ethnic minority were lower compared with their counterparts in Yunnan province and Hangzhou. The low level of IADL indicated that the elderly Yi participants had a high risk of cognitive impairment. Much attention should be diverted to influential factors of the HRQoL.