The relationship between physical, functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people with a chronic disease

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between physical and functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people who have a chronic disease. The study included 100 elderly individuals aged 65 years and older, who have a chronic disease. The study examined the marital and educational status, social security status, kind of chronic disease, number of chronic diseases and whether participants use assistive devices for walking. The Nottingham health profile (NHP) was used to evaluate QoL related to health; the physical mobility scale (PMS) was used to evaluate mobility in daily life and the functional independent measure (FIM) was used to evaluate functional independence in daily activities. In both female and male individuals, a statistically significant difference was found between the number of chronic diseases, kind of chronic disease, educational status, marital status, total FIM, PMS and NHP values ( p < 0.05). In males, there was a correlation between number of chronic illnesses and total NHP, FIM ( p < 0.05), but in females, there were no correlation between number of chronic illnesses and total NHP, FIM ( p > 0.05). There were no correlations between kind of chronic disease and PMS, NHP, FIM ( p > 0.05) in either of genders. It was found that there are differences among elderly female and male individuals with a chronic disease in terms of the number of chronic diseases, types of chronic disease, mobility level, functional status and QoL; and mobility level is related to functional capacity and QoL in females. It is thought that the rehabilitation programs to improve physical and functional capacity in elderly people and applications that increase participation in activities and reduce pain may improve QoL.