Correlation between quality of life and aspects of life style in people sixty years and over in botucatu city (São Paulo State, Brazil)

Abstract

The proportional increase of the elderly in the population has emphasized the need for consideration of what it takes to live this phase of life with a sense of quality and happiness. To learn about the habits and lifestyles of the aging, a population-based enquiry was carried out in a medium-sized city in the State of São Paulo. The questionnaire contained an open question on how elderly participants defined “quality of life” as also other, closed questions concerning habits and lifestyle. This study sought to determine any correlation between how the elderly defined “quality of life” and their habits and lifestyles. The open question was analyzed using a qualitative method, and 11 answer categories were identified. These categories were then analyzed using the Ward method constructing a dendrogram, and later by the k-means method in order to verify the percent of elderly individuals in each identified cluster. Next, the same procedure was carried out, this time adding “belonging or not” within the dendrogram, to the previously identified clusters in the form of three binary variables and by adding the questionnaire variables selected by the authors as representative of habits and lifestyle. The new dendrogram confirmed the existence of the three clusters found previously, and it was observed that related variables were aggregated to each one of them. It was concluded that three different profiles exist among the elderly citizens living in the city, and that there is a correlation between their definition of quality of life with their lifestyles. The identification of such clusters can play a role in the city’s health care policies and programs for the elderly.