Depression and Quality of Life in Older Persons: A Review

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 311-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Sivertsen ◽  
Guro Hanevold Bjørkløf ◽  
Knut Engedal ◽  
Geir Selbæk ◽  
Anne-Sofie Helvik

Background: Depression is a prevalent and disabling condition in older persons (≥60 years) that increases the risk of mortality and negatively influences quality of life (QOL). The relationship between depression, or depressive symptoms, and QOL has been increasingly addressed by research in recent years, but a review that can contribute to a better understanding of this relationship in older persons is lacking. Against this background, we undertook a literature review to assess the relationship between depression and QOL in older persons. Summary: Extensive electronic database searches revealed 953 studies. Of these, 74 studies fulfilled our criteria for inclusion, of which 52 were cross-sectional studies and 22 were longitudinal studies. Thirty-five studies were conducted in a clinical setting, while 39 were community-based epidemiological studies. A clear definition of the QOL concept was described in 25 studies, and 24 different assessment instruments were employed to assess QOL. Depressed older persons had poorer global and generic health-related QOL than nondepressed individuals. An increase in depression severity was associated with a poorer global and generic health-related QOL. The associations appeared to be stable over time and independent of how QOL was assessed. Key Messages: This review found a significant association between severity of depression and poorer QOL in older persons, and the association was found to be stable over time, regardless which assessment instruments for QOL were applied. The lack of a definition of the multidimensional and multilevel concept QOL was common, and the large variety of QOL instruments in various studies make a direct comparison between the studies difficult.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Åsa Kettis ◽  
Hanna Fagerlind ◽  
Jan-Erik Frödin ◽  
Bengt Glimelius ◽  
Lena Ring

Abstract Background Effective patient-physician communication can improve patient understanding, agreement on treatment and adherence. This may, in turn, impact on clinical outcomes and patient quality of life (QoL). One way to improve communication is by using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Heretofore, studies of the impact of using PROMs in clinical practice have mostly evaluated the use of standardized PROMs. However, there is reason to believe that individualized instruments may be more appropriate for this purpose. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of the standardized QoL-instrument, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life C-30 (EORTC-QOL-C30) and the individualized QoL instrument, the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting (SEIQoL-DW), in clinical practice. Methods In a prospective, open-label, controlled intervention study at two hospital out-patient clinics, 390 patients with gastrointestinal cancer were randomly assigned either to complete the EORTC-QOL-C30 or the SEIQoL-DW immediately before the consultation, with their responses being shared with their physician. This was repeated in 3–5 consultations over a period of 4–6 months. The primary outcome measure was patients’ health-related QoL, as measured by FACIT-G. Patients’ satisfaction with the consultation and survival were secondary outcomes. Results There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to study outcomes. Neither intervention instrument resulted in any significant changes in health-related QoL, or in any of the secondary outcomes, over time. This may reflect either a genuine lack of effect or sub-optimization of the intervention. Since there was no comparison to standard care an effect in terms of lack of deterioration over time cannot be excluded. Conclusions Future studies should focus on the implementation process, including the training of physicians to use the instruments and their motivation for doing so. The effects of situational use of standardized or individualized instruments should also be explored. The effectiveness of the different approaches may depend on contextual factors including physician and patient preferences.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Karine Grov ◽  
Berit Taraldsen Valeberg

AbstractObjective:Cancer affects both patients and their caregivers. Caregiver burden may change during different stages of the patients' cancer trajectory. Limited research has focused on the impact of being a caregiver, assessed by the caregiver's mental health and quality of life (QOL) during the curative and the palliative phases of the patient's disease. The aim of this study is to compare caregivers of cancer patients during the curative and a palliative phases with respect to their mental health and health-related QOL.Method:This descriptive, cross-sectional study combines data from two studies. The first group consists of caregivers of patients with cancer in the late palliative phase and the second group consists of caregivers of outpatients with cancer who suffer from pain and/or use analgesics. Data were collected by means of standardized measures and analyzed with descriptive statistics.Results:Based on this material, no significant differences in mental health and health- related QOL were revealed for caregivers of cancer patients in the palliative and the curative phases, respectively. Neither education level in the caregivers, nor the patients' functional status influenced caregivers' mental health or QOL. Younger caregivers seem to have better physical QOL.Significance of results:Being caregivers of cancer patients seems to have a similar pattern of impact on caregivers' mental health and quality of life regardless of the patient's disease stage. We share some reflections about the way in which the cancer stage is divided and the appropriateness of such selection for measuring caregivers' mental health and QOL. Additionally, we discuss the use of generic instruments for measuring specific contexts and particular samples.


2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-106
Author(s):  
Tinatin Gagua ◽  
Tkeshelashvili Besarion ◽  
David Gagua

Objective: The study aimed to measure the effect of primary dysmenorrhea on the quality of life of female adolescents living in Tbilisi, Georgia, and to compare Quality of Life (QoL) with healthy controls.Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study of 424 women aged 14-20, living in Tbilisi, Georgia, coming from academic and research institutions. The women were divided into those suffering dysmenorrhea (exposure group) and those without pain (control group). Reproductive history, demographic features, menstrual pattern, severity of dysmenorrhea and quality of life using the generic instrument EQ-5D, were measured. The Independent T student test was used for group comparison.Results: The group with dysmenorrhea (276) showed a lower Quality of Life score of 0.69 ± 0.20 vs. 0.94 ± 0.10 in the control group (p = 0.000); the Quality of Life VAS was also lower at 74.38 ± 17.83 vs. 87.02 ± 12.03 (p = 0.000). Of the subjetcs with primary dismenorrhea, 56.6% reported school absenteeism due to pain.Conclusion: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common problem in the adolescent population of Tbilisi, Georgia. The results of this study demonstrate that adolescents with primary dysmenorrhea in Georgia experience significantly lower physical and psychosocial health-related QoL than their healthy peers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 20-26
Author(s):  
Sekar Aswini ◽  
Girish R Shavi ◽  
S Shankar ◽  
Ranganath Sanga ◽  
G Lalithambigai ◽  
...  

Objectives: Oral health is closely related to general health and people’s quality of life (QoL), through affecting their oral functions and social interactions. This study aims to assess the oral health-related QoL among head-and-neck cancer (HNC) patients attending cancer care center at Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 340 HNC patients between August and October 2019 attending Government Arignar Anna Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Kanchipuram District of Tamil Nadu. The questionnaire has two parts. The 1st part consists of demographic characteristics and cancer-related details. The 2nd part was the European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL in HNC patients (EORTC QLQ H&N-35) questionnaire. Results: Among 340 patients, 72.4% were male and 27.6% were female. The majority of them had Stage II cancer. The main factors affecting oral health related QoL (OHRQoL) were taking painkillers, loss of sexual interest, difficulty in social contact, teeth problems, loss of taste, and smell senses. Significant association found between pain (P = 0.000), sense (P = 0.003), speech (P = 0.000), social eating (P = 0.016), social contact (P = 0.005), teeth problems (P = 0.031), dry mouth (P = 0.000), sticky saliva (P = 0.000), cough (0.002), feeling ill (P = 0.003), nutritional supplement (P = 0.042), and lost weight (P = 0.034) with respect to various treatment modalities. Based on the OHRQoL scores, those who were treated surgically alone had better QoL than others. Conclusion: We found that surgically treated HNC patients had better OHRQoL than others. Thus, Oral-Health related Quality of Life assessment can be used to analyse the outcome of treatment, patient satisfaction and their sense of self. We need to build a broader care protocol which satisfies/improves the demands arising from the patients.


Gerodontology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiane da Mata ◽  
Patrick Finbar Allen ◽  
Gerald John McKenna ◽  
Martina Hayes ◽  
Ali Kashan

Author(s):  
Muath Alrashed ◽  
Ali Alqerban

Summary Background Malocclusion is a deviation from an anatomical norm that occurs in various populations. Evidence shows that it has physical and psychological implications as well as an influence on the patient’s oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Self-perception of oral health plays an important role in the understanding of malocclusion’s influence on the quality of life. Malocclusion has been reported to impair a patient’s function, appearance, interpersonal relationships and psychological well-being. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate whether adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years with malocclusion are at increased risk for having a high level of OHRQoL compared with those without malocclusion. Search methods The Ovid Medline, Embase and Scopus databases were used to identify studies measuring the association between malocclusion and HRQoL. Selection criteria Only cross-sectional studies were included, and the following inclusion criteria were used: subjects were systemically healthy; data were available for untreated malocclusion and OHRQoL; malocclusion was measured by Dental Aesthetic Index and Index of Orthodontic Treatment Needs; OHRQoL was assessed by Child Perception Questionnaire, Child Oral Health Impact Profile and Child Oral Health Impact Profile; and the paper was published in English. Data collection and analysis Data were extracted by two independent reviewers. The Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS) was used to establish the risk of bias, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) evidence quality assessment tool was used to assess the impact of malocclusion on adolescents across studies. Results The initial search yielded 530 papers. Eleven cross-sectional studies were included in the meta-analyses, and all data describing the relationship between malocclusion and OHRQoL were gathered via a structured questionnaire. Our results showed that malocclusion is linked to decreased OHRQoL in children and adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years in continuously analysed studies. However, in dichotomously analysed studies, it was shown that young people without malocclusion are linked to decreased OHRQoL. Conclusions Adolescents with severe levels of malocclusion might have among the worst levels of OHRQoL. The effects of malocclusion on OHRQoL were influenced by the age of the adolescents as well as by their culture and environment. Registration PROSPERO (CRD42020178657).


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