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The Quality of Life Implications of Health Practices Among Older Adults: Evidence from the 1991 Canadian General Social Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Kelly J. Gillis  and
John P. Hirdes
Kelly J. Gillis
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo and Providence Centre
John P. Hirdes
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo and Providence Centre
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Abstract

The health promotion literature for young adults is not generalizable to the elderly, and different outcomes are likely to motivate changes in health practices within the two populations. Main and interactive effects of smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity and physical activity on older Canadians' quality of life are examined with 1991 GSS data. Quality of life is operationalized with psychological well-being and subjective health indicators. Two dichotomous outcomes are used for each dimension, where one outcome is relatively sensitive in detecting impaired quality of life and the other relatively specific. Smoking was consistently associated with negative outcomes, but there was little evidence of adverse effects for alcohol consumption. Physical activity effects were most pronounced comparing sedentary and moderately active individuals. Body mass index showed curvilinear associations with impaired quality of life and interactions with smoking and activity level in separate models.

Résumé

La documentation sur la promotion de la santé destinée aux jeunes adultes ne s'étend pas aux aînés et ce sont des attentes différentes qui vont motiver tout changement des habitudes saines chez les deux groupes. Les effets principaux et interactifs du tabac, de la consommation d'alcool, de l'obésité et de l'activité physique chez les canadiens âgés sont examinés en fonction des données de l'Enquête sociale générate de 1991. La qualité de la vie s'opérationalise par le bien-être psychologique et les indices de santé perçue. Deux issues dichotomiques sont utilisées à l'égard de chaque dimension; dans un cas, on détecte la détérioration de la qualité de vie de façon sensible et dans l'autre, on le fait spécifiquement. Le. tabac est constamment associé à des résultats négatifs mais on trouve peu des effets néfastes de la consommation d'alcool. Les effets de l'activité physique sont plutôt soulignés par la comparaison de sujets sédentaires à d'autres modérément actifs. L'indice de masse corporelle est en relation curviligne avec la détérioration de la qualité de la vie, le tabac et le niveau d'activité dans différents modèles.

Keywords

Subjective HealthPsychological Well-Being and Health Practices.Santé perçuebien-être psychologique et habitudes saines.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , Été/Summer 1996 , pp. 299 - 314
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1996

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