Activities of daily living, quality of life, social support and depression levels of elderly individuals in Turkish society.

OBJECTIVE To determine activities of daily living, quality of life, social support and depression levels of elderly individuals and the factors affecting each of these items. METHODS The cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2009 to June 2012 in Edirne, Turkey, and included elderly individuals over 60 years of age. Data was collected using a survey form, the Katz Activities of Daily Living Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Data was analysed using Spearman's correlation analysis. RESULTS Of the 912 subjects in the study, 509(55.8%) were females and 402(44.2%) were males, with an overall mean age of 68.05 ± 6.6 years (range: 60-94 years). Besides, 644(70.6%) of the subjects were married and 595(65.2%) were living with their spouse. The levels of social support and activities of daily living of elderly individuals with a high quality of life were higher, and their levels of depression were lower (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Older age, chronic health problems and polypharmacy should be taken into account when planning healthcare services for the elderly to ensure that they maintain a better quality of life.