Interrelationships of quality of life, compliance, clinical outcomes and life satisfaction: a cross-sectional study on hypertensive geriatrics.

OBJECTIVE

(i) To assess quality of life (QoL) profiles in hypertensive geriatrics with SF-36; (ii) to assess the compliance of geriatrics to medications; (iii) to estimate clinical outcomes (reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure); (iv) to assess life satisfaction and (v) to explore the interrelationships of QoL, compliance, clinical outcomes and life satisfaction in hypertensive geriatrics.

METHOD

Fifty-nine hypertensive geriatric patients in cardiology and 65 Plus clinics in West Virginia Hospitals were studied.

RESULTS

Age showed a significant negative correlation with physical functioning (r = 0.339, P< or =0.0127) and physical role (r=0.335, P< or =0.0148). The physical role facet of SF-36 is correlated with life satisfaction in geriatrics (r = 0.316, P < or =0.0219). A regression analysis (backward stepwise) not including bodily pain (BP) and general health (GH) resulted in a model explaining 22.3% of variance (n = 54, F = 2.252, P < or = 0.0543). Physical role (P < or = 0.0084) and mental health facets (P< or = 0.0184) of SF-36 emerged as the predictors of life satisfaction in elderly hypertensive patients. Emotional role functioning (P < or = 0.0257) and social functioning (P < or = 0.0033) scores predicted levels of diastolic blood pressure in elderly hypertensive patients. However, all eight concepts of SF-36 failed to predict compliance behaviour in geriatrics (n = 53, P < or = 0.6913, R2= 0.110).