Association between Health Indicators and Health-Related Quality of Life according to Physical Activity of Older Women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare sociodemographic factors, health factors and nutritional status according to the physical activity of older women, and to analyze the factors affecting their quality of life. The subjects of this study were 5661 older women aged 60 or older who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES) from 2008 to 2013. The socioeconomic factors, subjective health status and disease status, lifestyle and dietary quality, and life quality were compared among two groups (active group and inactive group). The inactive group had significantly higher rates of obesity and unemployment, comorbidities, numbers without spouses, experiencing stress, poor subjective health status, depression or suicidal thoughts, and also higher rates of skipping meals. The life quality index and dietary quality was also significantly lower in the inactive group, and subjects experienced significantly higher pain or discomfort and problems in mobility and the usual activities. The results of multivariate analysis after adjusting for age in groups engaging in physical activities showed the life quality index to increase in accordance with the diet quality, economic income, and education level. It was confirmed that life quality was significantly low if the participant showed a poor subjective health evaluation, obese with many diseases, spouseless, and experienced high levels of stress. Considering the rapid aging and high life expectancy of women, regular physical activity is very important for maintaining health and improving the life quality of older women, and it is believed that comprehensive attention and management of lifestyle and diet quality are necessary.