Subjective aspects of quality of life as factors od life expectancy

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati doprinos sociodemografskih karakteristika, kvalitete života i odnosa s obitelji te subjektivnog funkcioniranja u objašnjenju duljine života u starosti te proučiti međusoban odnos tih varijabla. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 191 sudionika minimalne starosti od 85 godina - korisnika 13 zagrebačkih domova za starije i nemoćne. Sudionici su ispitani u razdoblju od 2007. do 2009. godine. Životni status i dob njihove smrti utvrđeni su 2018. godine. Pronađena je značajna pozitivna povezanost duljine života s kvalitetom života i brojem djece što bi značilo da su ispitanici koji su svoju kvalitetu života doživljavali boljom te koji su imali više djece, živjeli duže. Značajna povezanost također je nađena za spol i obrazovanje te kvalitetu života i odnosa s obitelji. Muškarci su u prosjeku bili obrazovaniji dok su osobe koje su odnose s obitelji procjenjivale boljima to reflektirale i na životnu kvalitetu. Dodatno je utvrđeno da ne postoji razlika između muškaraca i žena u duljini života, procjeni kvalitete života i odnosa s obitelji te subjektivnog funkcioniranja. Regresijskom analizom dobiveno je kako broj djece značajno doprinosi duljini života ispitanika. Prediktorima se može objasniti 10,2% varijance duljine života. Nalazi upućuju na potrebu za daljnjim istraživanjima sociodemografskih karakteristika i subjektivnih aspekata kvalitete života kako bi se unaprijedila kvaliteta života, a samim time i duljina života, starijih osoba. Ključne riječi: dugovječnost, kvaliteta života, odnos s obitelji, subjektivno funkcioniranje, sociodemografske karakteristikeThe aim of this study was to examine the contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, quality of life and relationships with family and subjective functioning in explaining life expectancy in old age and to study the relationship between these variables The sample consisted of 191 people with a minimum age of 85, residents of 13 Zagreb homes for the elderly and infirm. Participants were interviewed in the period from 2007 to 2009. Their life status and age of death was determined in 2018. A significant positive association was found between life expectancy and quality of life and the number of children, which means that respondents who rated their quality of life as better and who had more children lived longer. A significant association was also found for gender and education, as well as for quality of life and quality of family relationships. Men were on average more educated, and people who rated family relationships better, rated also their life quality better. In addition, no difference was found between men and women in life expectancy, assessment of quality of life and family relationships, and subjective functioning. Regression analysis showed that the number of children significantly contributes to the life expectancy of the respondents. Predictors explained 10.2% of life expectancy variance. The findings suggest the need for further research on the sociodemographic characteristics and subjective aspects of quality of life in order to improve the quality of life, and thus the life expectancy, of the older adults