Impact of Selected Geriatric Syndromes on the Quality of Life in the Population Aged 60 and Older

Healthcare (Basel). 2021 May 31;9(6):657. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9060657.

Abstract

Geriatric syndromes represent a critical domain in the population more than 60 years old. Basic syndromes include frailty, sarcopenia, loss of body mass, and a mild cognitive disorder. These are significant problems which can affect the quality of life. In our study, the Rapid Geriatric Assessment (RGA) tool was used to assess the geriatric syndromes, and the WHOQOL-BREF was used to assess the quality of life to survey 498 respondents from a population aged 60 and older. In all the assessments, the distribution of variables was tested, a nonnormal distribution of variables was identified, and subsequently, nonparametric tests were performed to identify the differences between groups. The study showed that the domain of physical health and the psychological domain were most affected. The results have shown that individual geriatric syndromes affect certain domains of the quality of life of the population above 60 with various intensity.

Keywords: FRAIL; Rapid Cognitive Screen; Rapid Geriatric Assessment; SARC-F; The Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire; geriatric nursing; geriatric syndromes; nursing assessment; quality of life.