AIM: This study aims to assess the life quality of a group of elderly people linked to a health plan in the city of São Paulo and to verify which variables affect this construct. METHODS: This is an exploratory cross-sectional study carried out in 2017 with a group of elderly people over 60 years of age and without cognitive deficits, linked to a health plan operator, all residents of the city of São Paulo, SP. The WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-Old self-filled questionnaires were applied and the elderly participants also answered questionnaires relating to sociodemographic, morbidities and the usage of services developed by the researchers. RESULTS: The research group evaluates their quality of life as good and is satisfied with their health, but some points stand out. For said group, living by themselves, having cardiocirculatory diseases or having more than one chronic disease influenced negatively their quality of life, whereas being in a stable unionship and having access to consultations with intervals below six months interfered positively. It was observed that the group was concerned about issues related to independence, communication capacity, social life, and death. The environment and intimacy were shown as highlights for this group. CONCLUSIONS: It was verified in this group of elderly people that the best quality of life performance was obtained in the Environment and Social Relations domains and in the Intimacy and Past, Present and Future aspects. In addition, sociodemographic, morbidity and health service use variables significantly affected this construct. The characteristics of the research group do not allow us to generalize the findings, but it is hoped to have contributed with the look on a group as diverse as the Brazilian elderly.
Socioeconomic inequalities and exposure to traffic-related air pollution in the city of São Paulo, Brazil
