Background: The ever-growing elderly population of Iran and their physical and mental consequences put emphasis on the necessity of determining the quality of life (QoL) in this social group. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the mean score of QoL in Iranian elderly citizens. Methods: Twenty-one articles that were indexed in Iranian (MagIran and Iran Medex) and international (Scientific Information Database, Google Scholars, Science Direct, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus) databases were selected. The articles have used the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) to measure QoL in Iranian elderly. The collected data were analyzed using a random effects model, while heterogeneity of the studies was measured by I 2 index. The data analysis was performed by STATA. Results: The sample size of the 21 articles was 5318 and the mean score of QoL in the healthy and sick elderly citizens was 53.8 (CI 95%: 49.4-58.2) and 50.6 (CI 95%: 38.4-62.9) respectively. In addition, there was no significant relationship between the score of QoL and the year of publication of the articles. (P=0.748) Conclusion: Given that QoL of the studied elderly was almost at an average level, there is a need to codify and implement comprehensive programs through effective training programs toward improving QoL of the elderly.

https://ijcbnm.sums.ac.ir/article_40775_9ce07026bb8d89814903bef435383f32.pdf

Health Related Quality of Life in Iranian Elderly Citizens: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measurement in elderly people can provide appropriate information for an optimal management of physical/mental conditions. The main objective of the present study was to quantitatively assess the HRQoL among healthy elder Iranian individuals as measured by the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire, both overall and at the level of each its single component/domain. This study was designed as a systematic review and meta-analysis, following the "Preferred Reporting Results of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" (PRISMA) guidelines. Embase, PubMed/MEDLINE, ISI/Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and Iranian databases such as MagIran, SID and Irandoc were mined from inception up to 1st September 2017. Also the grey literature (via Google Scholar) was mined. Two reviewers independently screened titles/abstracts, assessed full-text articles, extracted data, and appraised their quality using the "Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology" (STROBE) checklist. Twenty five studies were included. Mean overall HRQoL was 54.92 [95%CI 51.50–58.33], lower than the value found by studies done in other countries, especially in those economically developed. The sensitivity analysis indicated stability and reliability of results. Pooled scores of each HRQoL domain/sub-scale of the SF-36 questionnaire ranged from 49.77 (physical role functioning) to 63.02 (social role functioning). HRQoL among healthy elder Iranian individuals is generally low. Health policy-makers should put HRQoL among the elderly as a priority of their agenda, implementing ad hoc programs and providing social, economic and psychological support, as well as increasing the participation of old people in the community life and use their experiences.

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Health-related quality of life among healthy elderly Iranians: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.

Background: Visual impairment is one of the independent risk factors for falling among the elderly. Functional disabilities caused by vision disorders are the most common problems affecting the quality of life in this population. Therefore, vision self-management program (VSM) may be helpful for patients in reducing impairment and improving the quality of life. Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of self-management educational program on the vision-related quality of life among the elderly with visual impairment. Method: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 57 elderly people in Mashhad, Iran, in 2017. The participants were assigned into two groups of intervention (n=28) and control (n=29). The intervention group received a 6-week VSM as a 60-minute session per week, while the control group underwent the routine education in the clinic. Visual-related quality of life was measured using the 39-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire immediately and two months after the intervention to implement home-based intervention. The data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 23. Results: The mean age of the participants in the intervention and control groups were 66.4±0.7 and 66.1±7.0 years, respectively. The repeated measures ANOVA test showed that the mean score of vision-related quality of life in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Implications for Practice: The self-management education can increase vision-related quality of life and its various dimensions in the elderly with visual impairment. Given that the intervention duration in this study was two months, further studies with longer duration are recommended.

https://ebcj.mums.ac.ir/article_10504_af8408ef9675b494735e74c8eb5c5bb7.pdf

Effect of Self-management Educational Program on Vision-related Quality of Life among Elderly with Visual Impairment

Introduction and purpose: Walking difficulty, visual impairment and distance perception disorders are the most important problems in old age. The purpose of this study was to compare distance perception in active and inactive elderly with an emphasis on physical activity. Materials and Methods: This causal-comparative study was conducted among elderly men in the city of Tabriz. Random sampling method was used to recruit 25 active and 25 inactive elderly into this study. Distance perception was measured by direct observation of elderly walking with closed eyes in a straight line towards pre-specified target and percentage of error was used as the indicator of distance perception. Data were analyzed using SPSS via independent sample t-test. Findings: The results of this study showed that active elderly had significantly (p<0.05) longer step length, lower number of steps and shorter walking time compared to inactive elderly. Conclusions: Findings from the present study confirmed superiority of active lifestyle in terms of physical activity. These results show that physical activity increases the confidence in elderly to take longer steps and walk a distance in shorter time.

A comparison of distance perception in active and inactive elderly with an emphasis on physical activity

Introduction: Given to the high prevalence of  impaired vision in aging population and importance of their quality of life, this study was aimed to evaluate the association between quality of life and vision rehabilitation needs in elderly patients with low vision referring to Bu Ali Sina Hospital, Qazvin, Iran.
 
Methods: A total of 94 elderly patients with visual acuity less than 6/18 participated in this cross-sectional study. Visual functioning questionnaire -25 and vision rehabilitation needs questionnaire were used to assess the quality of life and rehabilitation needs, respectively. Data were analyzed using Pearson and Spearman correlations, Independent t, and ANOVA tests.
 
Results: The prevalence of rehabilitation needs ranged from 29.8% (telling time with a watch or clock) to 76.4% (reading). The results also showed significant associations between the quality of life, age, marital status, and total rehabilitation needs (p < 0.05).
 
Conclusion: These results highlight that addressing the rehabilitation needs of elderly patients with a visual impairment may be an effective means to improve their quality of life.

Association between Rehabilitation Needs and Quality of Life of the Elderly Patients with Visual Impairment

https://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-425-2&sid=1&slc_lang=en&ftxt=1&pure_pdf=1

Mohammad Mohammadiannia

Papers

Visual Functioning and Its Relations With Quality of Life in the Older People Using Governmental Outpatient Clinics Services in the City of Boushehr