* Professor of Nutrition and Food Chemistry. ** Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. *** High School Professor. Correspondence: Dra. Rosaura Farré Rovira, Area de Nutrició i Bromatología, Facultat de Farmàcia de la Universitat de València, Avda. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n. 46100-Burjassot, València (Spain). Tel: 963864950. Fax: 963864954.
e-mail adress: Rosaura.Farre@uv.es

Abstract: Background: In elderly people the concept of quality of life includes health status, ability to perform daily tasks and social activities, financial position, emotional status and absence of aches and pains. Objective: To evaluate the degree of incapacity related to osteoarticular pathology (OAP), one of the most common diseases among old people, and to ascertain to what extent this affects their quality of life. Design: The sample was made up of 59 men (76.1±8.1 years) and 104 women (79.7±6.2 years) from a geriatric home depending on the Generalitat Valenciana (Spain). Data obtained from the individual clinical histories and personal interviews made it possible to evaluate their: global health status, ability to perform daily tasks and social activities, food intake and the quality of the geriatric home. In addition, body mass index (BMI), arm muscle area (AMA) and arm fat area (AFA) were estimated. Results: The number of chronic diseases, drug consumption, and values of the fat-mass indicators (BMI and AFA) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in people with OAP (61% of women and 25% of men of the sample), and their global health status and manual ability were significantly worse (p<0.05) than that of the other residents. Both groups (with and without OAP) obtained similar scores (p>0.05) on all indicators of quality of life evaluated, and only the catering services was disliked by the majority of the residents. Conclusions: From a subjective point of view, OAP does not seem to affect the quality of life of people suffering from it, except insofar as it diminishes their manual ability.

Keywords: Quality of life, elderly, chronic diseases, arthrosis, nutritional status.