BackgroundThe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the elderly population of Yi ethnic minority, which is the seventh largest nationality in China, has been rarely reported. This study was designed to explore the HRQoL of the elderly Yi ethnicity and association between their HRQOL and functional abilities.MethodsA total of 291 Yi ethnic residents were randomly recruited from 12 rural counties in Yunnan province and divided into different age groups. Local residents in Yunnan province and the elderly from Hangzhou were enrolled as controls. The MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales were utilized to evaluate the HRQoL and functional ability. One-way ANOVA was used to statistically compare the ADL and IADL among different age groups. The influential variables on HRQOL were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the association among HRQoL, ADL and IADL.ResultsThe HRQoL of the elderly Yi minority was significantly lower than those of local residents in Yunnan province and the elderly counterparts in Hangzhou. The IADL ability of the elderly Yi minority was low, whereas they could perform most items of ADL. ADL, IADL, and education level were positively associated with HRQoL, whereas age, chronic diseases, and the frequency of medication use were negatively correlated with HRQoL.ConclusionThe HRQoL and functional capacity of the elderly Yi ethnic minority were lower compared with their counterparts in Yunnan province and Hangzhou. The low level of IADL indicated that the elderly Yi participants had a high risk of cognitive impairment. Much attention should be diverted to influential factors of the HRQoL.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-017-0455-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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BackgroundThe purpose of this research was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and functional abilities of Yi and Han elderly who resided in Yi Autonomous prefecture or Counties in Yunnan Province, as well as to compare their differences in HRQOL, functional abilities and other factors.MethodsA total of 1636 older subjects, which included 863 Han and 773 Yi, were recruited from 10 Yi Autonomous regions. Their HRQOL and functional capabilities were assessed by the MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), activities of daily living (ADL), and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales.ResultsThe Han elderly performed better in every domain of SF-36 than the Yi elderly. Both of the two ethnic groups could perform their ADL independently but the Yi elderly showed greater dependency in IADL abilities. The HRQOL was positively associated with their ADL, IADL, and education levels. Moreover, age, health insurance status, and living arrangement were negatively correlated with HRQOL.ConclusionThe HRQOL and IADL capabilities of the Han elderly were higher than that of the Yi counterparts in the Yi Autonomous regions. The HRQOL of both the two ethnic groups was positively connected with ADL, IADL abilities as well as education levels, whereas it was negatively correlated with age and health insurance. The elderly-care policy on the Yi autonomous areas should focus more on the HRQOL, ADL improvement, education background, age needs, and health insurance, etc.

Background Previous Chinese studies focused on the prevalence and influential factors of hypertension; however, little is known about their self-care literacy and quality of life among the Bai older adults with hypertension. The purpose of this research was to explore the associations among health-promoting lifestyle, self-care agency, and health-related quality of life in Bai ethnic older patients with hypertension, as well as the related factors of hypertension self-care abilities. Methods A total of 472 Bai ethnic hypertension older adults aged 60 and above were enrolled in this study voluntarily from 5 rural communities of the Bai ethnic group. The Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCAS) was employed to assess the Self-care ability of hypertension for the subjects, the Health-promoting lifestyle profile II(HPLP-II) was utilized to evaluate the health behavior, and MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was chosen to assess the HRQOL for the studying population. All descriptive analyses, including demographic characteristics, socio-economic status, and clinical characteristics were stratified by Bai hypertensive elderly. Pearson correlation analysis model was used to examine the associations among health-promoting lifestyle, self-care agency, and health-related quality of life in Bai ethnic elderly with hypertension. Results The HPLP-II, ESCA, and of HRQOL levels of the subjects were low, and the mean HPLP and ESCA scores had no significant statistical variance among different age groups. Significant statistical differences were found in Bai elderly subjects in the domain of PF and PH as well as the overall score in SF-36(all P< 0.01), 60–64 year group had the highest score of the above three domains in SF-36 than other age groups. The SF-36 scores were positively associated with HPLP and ESCA levels. Conclusion The HPLP-II, ESCA, and of HRQOL levels of the Bai subjects were poor in the Bai ethnic hypertensive elderly. The HRQOL scores of subjects were positively connected with HPLP-II and ESCA abilities. More attention should be paid to lifestyle, healthy behaviors, and self-care abilities improvements to enhance the better HRQOL of Bai minority older adults with hypertension.

Background Cognitive impairment and depression have a tremendous impact on the mental health and well-being of older adults in China. As previous studies showed the beneficial effect of social participation on cognitive functioning and depression, social participation has great implications for older Chinese adults’ mental health. However, few studies investigated the influence of specific types of social participation on the relationship between depression and cognitive functioning. The current study explored which specific types of social activities alleviate cognitive impairment in older adults in China and whether social participation moderates the influence of depression on their cognitive functioning. Methods The study conducted hierarchical regression analysis on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) dataset of 5,056 older adults. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was employed to measure the cognitive performance of the subjects, and the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) was utilized to evaluate depressive symptoms. Descriptive statistical analysis was first conducted to describe the demographic information and the distribution of MMSE and CESD-10 scores of the studied subjects. Then, hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the best fit of constructed step-wise models that reflect the main effect of depression on cognitive functioning (Model 1), the main effects of formal and informal social participation, and the interaction between social participation and depression on cognitive functioning (Model 2 & 3), and the main effects of social participation broken down into specific categories as well as their interactions with depression on cognitive functioning, respectively (Model 4 & 5). We controlled for demographic factors such as age and gender in each model and the influence of depression in Model 2, 3, 4, and 5. Results Older Chinese adults in the CHARLS database demonstrated varying degrees of cognitive impairment (M = 20.96, SD = 5.62), given that an MMSE score of 23 or lower indicates dementia. The subjects also manifested “minimal” to “moderate-severe” depression (M = 8.78, SD = 6.67) with a CESD-10 cut-off score of 10 implying cases of depression. Regression results showed that depression had a significant negative main effect on older Chinese adults’ cognitive functioning across all Models. Participating in both formal and informal social activities mitigated cognitive decline among older adults in China. When social participation was broken down in types, “playing mahjong, chess, or cards or going to a community club”, “going to a sport, social or other kinds of the club”, “taking part in a community-related organization”, and “investing in stock” positively associated with the MMSE scoring of older Chinese adults. No interaction between the overall or specific types of social participation and depression was found. Conclusion Overall, the study revealed the benefit of social participation on the mental health and well-being of older adults in China, particularly favoring informal social activities. The implications of this study are relevant to the areas of public policy and public health, such as creating social venues for older adults and organizing social activities for the older population. These could improve the life satisfaction of older adults and reduce the burden on the Chinese health system.

Background: The purpose of this research was to explore the association among health promoting lifestyle, self-care agency and health-related quality of life in Bai ethnic elderly patients with hypertension, as well as the related factors of hypertension self-care abilities. Methods: A total of 472 Bai ethnic hypertension elderly were enrolled into this study voluntarily from 5 rural communities of Bai ethnic group. The Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCAS) was to employed to assess Self-care ability of hypertension for the subjects, Health-promoting lifestyle profile Ⅱ(HPLP-Ⅱ) was utilized to evaluate the health behavior, and MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were chosen to assess the HRQOL for the studying population. All descriptive analyses, including demographic characteristics, socio-economic status and clinical characteristics were stratified by Bai hypertensive elderly. Pearson correlation analysis model was used to examine the association among health promoting lifestyle, self-care agency and health-related quality of life in Bai ethnic elderly with hypertension. Multiple linear regression analysis model was used to investigate the influencing factors of SF-36 scale. Results: The HPLP-Ⅱ, ESCA and of HRQOL levels of the subjects were not favorable, and the mean HPLP and ESCA scores had no significant statistical variance among different age groups. Significant statistical differences were found on Bai elderly subjects in the domain of PF and PH as well as the overall score in SF-36(all P＜0.01), 60-64 year group had the highest score of above three domains in SF-36 than other age groups. The SF-36 scores were positively associated with HPLP and ESCA levels. Conclusion: The HPLP-Ⅱ, ESCA and of HRQOL levels of the Bai subjects were poor in the Bai ethnic hypertensive elderly. The HRQOL scores of subjects were positively connected with HPLP-Ⅱ, ESCA abilities. More attentions should be paid to the life-style, healthy behaviors, and self-care abilities improvements to enhance the better HRQOL of Bai minority elderly with hypertension.