The Isfahan Comprehensive Elderly Study: Objectives, research design, methodology, and preliminary results

Abstract

Background: Tis paper presents the objectives, research design, methodology, and primary fndings of the Isfahan Comprehensive Elderly Study (ICES). Materials and Methods: In this cross?sectional study, 603 elderly persons (aged 60 and over) were selected by multistage cluster sampling method from Isfahan, Iran, in 2016 comprehensive   questionnaires along with a detailed interview were used to collect  information on personal, family, socioeconomic, health and social services characteristics, life styles, physical illnesses and chronic diseases, mental, emotional and cognition disorders, quality of life, disabilities, sleep quality, social supports, life satisfaction, self?efcacy, and of participants. Results: Te mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of participants was 69.66 ± 6.31 years, consisting of 50.75% females. About 23% of elderly persons were at the risk of malnutrition and 4.5% were current smoker. Severe and mild depression were documented in 9.3% and 30.2% among included study subjects, respectively. About half of the participants had hypertension, and 26.8% su?ered from cardiovascular disease. Te mean ± SD of total score of Geriatric Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Older People’s Quality of Life, Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index was 8.84 ± 6.79, 14.76 ± 5.92, 133.99 ± 10.55, 142.04 ± 120.53, and 6.17 ± 3.44, respectively. Elderly males had signifcantly  higher life satisfaction and self?efcacy and better cognitive function than females (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Te fndings of current study provided a
comprehensive overview of the current health status and lifestyle of older adults in Isfahan city. Te ICES could help policy makers to design  ppropriate prevention and interventional programs and policies to cover the specifc needs of the elderly population.