Unlocking the potential for the quality of life in older adults from Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 pandemic: modeling study on gender and place of residency and associated factors

TL;DR

This study explores how factors like health, ethnicity, and living location affect the quality of life of older adults in Kazakhstan during the pandemic, highlighting differences between men and women and urban versus rural areas.

Contribution

The study identifies gender- and location-specific factors influencing quality of life in older adults in Kazakhstan during the pandemic.

Findings

Being from an ethnic group other than Kazakh was associated with lower quality of life scores in the overall population.

Marital status and chronic diseases like COPD and heart failure were significant predictors of quality of life, varying by gender and urban/rural residence.

Age combined with health and sociodemographic factors significantly affected quality of life scores differently across groups.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with quality of life (QoL) in older adults from Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as gender- and place-of-residence differences in these factors associated with QoL.

This study included 445 individuals aged 60 years and above from both urban and rural areas in Kazakhstan, between June and July 2022. Sociodemographic and health-related variables were analyzed. QoL was evaluated by the Older People’s Quality of Life (OPQoL) Scale.

The multivariate regression analysis indicated that the entire study population belonging to an ethnic group other than Kazakh (p < 0.001) was associated with lower OPQoL scores. For men, being married (p = 0.001) was significantly associated with the higher OPQoL scores, while belonging to an ethnic group other than Kazakh (p = 0.040) was associated with the lower OPQoL scores. Regarding women, the presence of COPD (p < 0.001) and belonging to an ethnic group other than Kazakh (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with the lower OPQoL scores. For those living in urban areas, better self-reported overall health (p = 0.005) and the absence of chronic heart failure (p = 0.041) were significantly associated with higher OPQoL scores. In comparison, the presence of chronic diseases (p < 0.001) and belonging to an ethnic group other than Kazakh (p < 0.001) were associated with lower OPQoL scores. In the rural area, in univariate regression analysis, only diabetes (p = 0.012) was significantly associated with lower OPQoL scores. General linear model analysis indicated that age, in combination with various health and sociodemographic factors, significantly affected OPQoL scores. In men, significant associations involved age with diabetes (p = 0.024) and marital status (p < 0.001), and in women, age with COPD (p = 0.005), chronic diseases (p = 0.014), and ethnic background (p < 0.001). Among urban residents, age was significantly associated with chronic heart failure (p = 0.021), chronic disease (p = 0.005), and ethnic background (p < 0.001), while among rural residents, age was significantly associated with hypertension (p = 0.024) and chronic diseases (p = 0.043).

Our findings suggested that various sociodemographic and health-related factors influence QoL in older adults. Furthermore, this study showed gender- and place of residence-differentiated predictors of QoL. These results call for gender and place-of-residence-responsive healthcare provision and community support services.