Gender effect on well-being of the oldest old: a survey of nonagenarians living in Tuscany: the Mugello study

Abstract

The population of industrialized nations is progressively aging, with Italy having one of the most elderly populations in the world. Natural aging may be associated with physical and cognitive impairments, often straining public resources. The present study aims to investigate the influence of gender on wellness of the nonagenarians. We evaluated quality of life among nonagenarians living in the Mugello area, an Italian location with a large population of individuals > 90 years, using the Health Survey Scoring SF-12. The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale and Basic and Instrumental Activity of Daily Living scales were also assessed. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to evaluate the cognitive status. In the current survey, women outnumbered men 2.7:1 confirming their higher longevity. However, on the basis of SF-12 scores, nonagenarian women felt worse than men, both physically (mean: women = 41.8 vs men = 44.4, p = 0.004) and mentally (mean: women = 46.7 vs men =48.5, p = 0.034), and their depression rates were higher: considering a General Depression Scale score ≥ 5 as a possible depression status; 37.5% of men reported depression vs. 48.5% of women (p = 0.021). Significant differences were observed also in daily activities, both basic (median: woman = 3 vs men = 5, p < 0.001) and instrumental (median woman = 1 vs me = 3, p < 0.001). Despite prior reports showing that women perform better than men in aging, our study confirms data reported in most national and European surveys: women live longer than men, but with poorer quality of life. The current study confirms the phenomenon known as the "male-female health-survival paradox."

Factors Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Multinomial Logistic Analysis

“…These findings might be explained in terms of a better psychological adaptation to aging and perhaps to the fact that with age comes not only wisdom, but also the attribution of greater meaning or value to life. As concerns the influence of gender, previous studies have reported a poorer HRQoL among women than among men [31,32,33,34,36,37], and our own results corroborate this difference. Thus, women obtained poorer scores in both components of HRQoL, although the association was only significant for the mental component of a very low quality of life.…”

Social Activities and Health-Related Quality of Life in Rural Older Adults in South Korea: A 4-Year Longitudinal Analysis

“…Concerning gender differences, our findings supported previous studies, which reported a poorer health-related quality of life among women than among men [48][49][50]. In the present study, male older adults were more often currently employed and living with a spouse than female older adults.…”

Independent Functioning in Nonagenarians Living in a Rural Italian Community: The Mugello Study

“…The cross-sectional and longitudinal correlation of PA with mood and cognitive status is also well established (Sofi et al, 2011; Padua et al, 2018; Herr et al, 2016). Again, PA could modify cognitive performance and mood, but on the contrary, appropriate treatment of unaddressed depression and cognitive decline may potentially reflect both on PA and on disability.…”