General Health Status Opinions of Older Adults in Turkey Sample: Gender Differences

Abstract

Purpose: To know the factors affecting health in the increasingly elderly population is important in terms of preventing and treating possible risks. Our study was planned to determine the opinions about the general health status of elderly adults and to examine gender differences. Materials and methods: In total, 278 elderly volunteers (Male: 158, Female:120), between 65-97 ages who has good cognitive function (Hodkinson Mental Score 7 and above) were enrolled in the study. The first question of the Disease Control and Prevention Center (CDC-4) scale was used to assess the overall health status of older adults. The general health status classified as excellent, very good, good, average and poor. The most important issues affecting the current general health and quality of life were asked to express by asking open-ended questions. Results: The average age of elderly people participating in the study was 71.74±5.54 years (F=71.12±5.29 M=72.22±5.73). Women had more chronical diseases than man (p<0.05). From their own expression, we found that women used much more drugs (p<0.05), were more prone to arthritic problems (p=0.001) and had a lower level of exercise (p=0.0001). Women defined their health status like Average (49.2%) while man defined as Good (38.0%). We found that most important health problems by their expressions are, hypertension, arthritic problems and diabetes mellitus. Conclusions: The results showed that older adults were aware of their own health status and define their health status predominantly as Average. Regarding chronic diseases, it is determined that women have more diseases than men and women exercise less. © 2021, Pamukkale University. All rights reserved.