Gender differences in quality of life among community-dwelling older adults in low- and middle-income countries: results from the Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE)

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 114
• Main Authors: Lee, Kyung Hee, Xu, Hanzhang, Wu, Bei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 28.01.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adults; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Arthritis; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Demographic aspects; Dependent variables; Developing Countries - statistics & numerical data; Economic aspects; Elderly; Equality; Female; Gender; Gender aspects; Gender equality; Gender inequality; Health; Health aspects; Health insurance; Humans; Income; Independent Living; Independent variables; Industrialized nations; Life expectancy; Literature reviews; Living arrangements; Low income groups; Low- and middle-income country; Male; Marital status; Middle Aged; Missing data; Older adults; Older people; Population; Public health; Quality of Life; Regression analysis; Regression models; Sex differences; Sex differences (Psychology); Sex Factors; Social aspects; Social interactions; Social support; Sociodemographics; Studies; Variables; United States; Mexico; South Africa; Ghana; China; Russia; India; Gender inequality; Low- and middle-income country; Older adults; Quality of life
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-8212-0
• ISSN: 1471-2458

Quality of life (QoL) is an important component of individuals' general well-being, particularly in older adults. However, factors influencing QoL among older adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have not been fully examined. Furthermore, the role of gender differences in relation to QoL in multiple LMICs has also not been examined in detail. This study used data from the World Health Organization's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE), Wave-1. Based on a literature review of existing works, a set of variables-an independent variable and covariates-were selected. The study sample consisted of 33,019 participants aged 50 years and above from China, Ghana, India, Russia, and South Africa. Multivariate linear regression models were estimated with the World Health Organization QoL scores as the dependent variable. To preserve the analytical sample size, multiple imputation was used to account for missing data. The results showed that generally, male older adults reported a better QoL than female older adults across all of the countries. The associations between QoL and sociodemographic factors, health-related factors, and social support factors among older adults differed according to country. This study provides a better understanding of QoL among older adults in LMICs, which can help prepare LMICs to better address the QoL of older adults. The results of this study can be used to develop programs to promote better living standards and services to reduce gender disparities and ultimately, to improve the QoL among older adults in LMICs.