Topic
Quality of life
About: Quality of life is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 42912 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1198363 citations. The topic is also known as: life quality.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: Five reasons for focusing on quality of life (QOL) as a desired outcome for programs for the chronically ill are presented and problems in QOL evaluative research are discussed.
398 citations
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TL;DR: The LiFE programme provides an alternative to traditional exercise to consider for fall prevention and functional based exercise should be a focus for interventions to protect older, high risk people from falling and to improve and maintain functional capacity.
Abstract: Objectives To determine whether a lifestyle integrated approach to balance and strength training is effective in reducing the rate of falls in older, high risk people living at home.
Design Three arm, randomised parallel trial; assessments at baseline and after six and 12 months. Randomisation done by computer generated random blocks, stratified by sex and fall history and concealed by an independent secure website.
Setting Residents in metropolitan Sydney, Australia.
Participants Participants aged 70 years or older who had two or more falls or one injurious fall in past 12 months, recruited from Veteran’s Affairs databases and general practice databases. Exclusion criteria were moderate to severe cognitive problems, inability to ambulate independently, neurological conditions that severely influenced gait and mobility, resident in a nursing home or hostel, or any unstable or terminal illness that would affect ability to do exercises.
Interventions Three home based interventions: Lifestyle integrated Functional Exercise (LiFE) approach (n=107; taught principles of balance and strength training and integrated selected activities into everyday routines), structured programme (n=105; exercises for balance and lower limb strength, done three times a week), sham control programme (n=105; gentle exercise). LiFE and structured groups received five sessions with two booster visits and two phone calls; controls received three home visits and six phone calls. Assessments made at baseline and after six and 12 months.
Main outcome measures Primary measure: rate of falls over 12 months, collected by self report. Secondary measures: static and dynamic balance; ankle, knee and hip strength; balance self efficacy; daily living activities; participation; habitual physical activity; quality of life; energy expenditure; body mass index; and fat free mass.
Results After 12 months’ follow-up, we recorded 172, 193, and 224 falls in the LiFE, structured exercise, and control groups, respectively. The overall incidence of falls in the LiFE programme was 1.66 per person years, compared with 1.90 in the structured programme and 2.28 in the control group. We saw a significant reduction of 31% in the rate of falls for the LiFE programme compared with controls (incidence rate ratio 0.69 (95% confidence interval 0.48 to 0.99)); the corresponding difference between the structured group and controls was non-significant (0.81 (0.56 to 1.17)). Static balance on an eight level hierarchy scale, ankle strength, function, and participation were significantly better in the LiFE group than in controls. LiFE and structured groups had a significant and moderate improvement in dynamic balance, compared with controls.
Conclusions The LiFE programme provides an alternative to traditional exercise to consider for fall prevention. Functional based exercise should be a focus for interventions to protect older, high risk people from falling and to improve and maintain functional capacity.
Trial registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry 12606000025538.
397 citations
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TL;DR: Chronic pain, not caused by somatic disease, was present to a higher degree in girls; the pain increased during the day and had a negative impact on quality of life of the adolescents and the family.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To study chronic pain not caused by somatic disease in
adolescents and the effect of pain on the quality of life of the
adolescents and their families. METHODS: One hundred twenty-eight
youngsters (12-18 years) who had reported chronic pain kept a 3-week diary
of their pain and completed a questionnaire on quality of life. Their
mothers completed a questionnaire on the impact of their youngster's pain
on the family. RESULTS: The most prevalent pains were limb pain, headache,
abdominal, and back pain. The pain increased during the day, with the
highest frequency around dinner time and the highest intensity around
bedtime. Girls reported more intense and more frequent pain than boys. The
higher the intensity and frequency of the pain, the lower the
self-reported quality of life of the female or male adolescent, especially
regarding psychological functioning (e.g. feeling less at ease), physical
status (a greater incidence of other somatic complaints), and functional
status (more impediments to leisure and daily activities). Chronic pain
also had a negative impact on family life. The mothers reported
restrictions, particularly in social life, and problems dealing with the
stress of the adolescent's pain. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain, not caused by
somatic disease, was present to a higher degree in girls; the pain
increased during the day and had a negative impact on quality of life of
the adolescents and the family. There is a need for future research aimed
at identifying risk factors for chronic pain and pain-associated quality
of life in children and adolescents.
396 citations
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TL;DR: Life dissatisfaction may predict mortality and serve as a general health risk indicator and this effect seems to be partially mediated through adverse health behavior.
Abstract: The authors investigated the role of self-reported life satisfaction in mortality with a prospective cohort study (1976-1995). A nationwide sample of healthy adults (18-64 years, n = 22,461) from the Finnish Twin Cohort responded to a questionnaire about life satisfaction and known predictors of mortality in 1975. A summary score for life satisfaction (LS), defined as interest in life, happiness, loneliness, and general ease of living (scale range, 4-20), was determined and used as a three-category variable: the satisfied (LS, 4-6) (21%), the intermediate group (LS, 7-11) (65%), and the dissatisfied (LS, 12-20) (14%). Mortality data were analyzed with Cox regression. Dissatisfaction was linearly associated with increased mortality. The age-adjusted hazard ratios of all-cause, disease, or injury mortality among dissatisfied versus satisfied men were 2.11 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.68, 2.64), 1.83 (95% CI: 1.40, 2.39), and 3.01 (95% CI: 1.94, 4.69), respectively. Adjusting for marital status, social class, smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity diminished these risks to 1.49 (95% CI: 1.16, 1.92), 1.35 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.82), and 1.93 (95% CI: 1.19, 3.12), respectively. Dissatisfaction was associated with increased disease mortality, particularly in men with heavy alcohol use (hazard ratio = 3.76, 95% CI: 1.61, 8.80). Women did not show similar associations between life satisfaction and mortality. Life dissatisfaction may predict mortality and serve as a general health risk indicator. This effect seems to be partially mediated through adverse health behavior.
394 citations
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TL;DR: This study has demonstated that the CHILD-OIDP index is a valid, reliable and practical measure of oral health-related quality of life in 12 year old Thai children.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To develop an oral health-related quality of life index in Thai children and evaluate its psychometric properties. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of children aged 11-12 years, attending the final year of primary school (grade-six). Development and evaluation process was conducted on non-random sample in U-thong District, Suphan-buri province, Thailand. Re-evaluation of the index included all target group children in a municipal area of Suphan-buri province, Thailand. The psychometric properites evaluated in this study refer to face, content and concurrent validity and internal and test-retest reliability. PARTICIPANTS: 513 children in the development process. 1,100 children in the re-evaluation. RESULTS: Throughout the development process, the OIDP index was modified and its psychometric properties evaluated. The final test revealed excellent validity and reliability. Weighted kappa was 0.93. There was no negative correlation between any item, corrected item-total correlation coefficients were between 0.4-0.7, Standardised Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.82. The index showed very significant associations with perceived oral treatment need (p < 0.001) and perceived oral health problems (p < 0.001). The validity and reliability of the index was confirmed by similar results in the re-evaluation study. CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstated that the CHILD-OIDP index is a valid, reliable and practical measure of oral health-related quality of life in 12 year old Thai children.
394 citations