Iranian Journal of

Background & Objectives: Aging and elderly population growth has been increased in Iran. Quality of life of older persons is important as a consideration in medical decisions and as a clinical outcome measure. Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is not well understood in this group therefore we designed this study to determine the quality of life among elderly populations of Tehran, Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of elderly people selected from the elderly centers in Tehran. The Iranian version of short-form Health survey (SF-36) and perceived social support questionnaires were employed as standard tools.
Results: Overall, 400 elderly people with the mean age of 64.07(SD =4.49) took part in this study. Of all participants, 298 individuals were women. The mean score of PCS (Physical Component summery) and MCS (Mental Component Summery) were 64.62 (SD= 12.68) and 63.35 (SD=4/7) respectively. The results of this study revealed that women compared to men had significantly higher scores in different dimensions of health related quality of life as physical function, social function, body pain and general health. Additionally, participants with lower body mass indexes, higher education level, married elderly, healthy aged participants and richer ones had higher scores of health related quality of life.
Conclusion: According to this study, there was correlation between mean PCS and social support as well as MCS and social support. Quality of life in female, individuals with higher education and socioeconomic status were higher than male, persons with lower education and socioeconomic status.

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