Abstract:

Introduction: Marriage has important influences on the health of elders. Marital status has been identified as an important social factor associated with better health compared with the never married, widowed, or divorced. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of marital status on older adults with regard to quality of life, balance and fall risk and psychological well being. Materials and Method: One hundred subjects who are living in a long term care facility were recruited (38 marreid, 62 single, mean age 80.54±6.33 years, range 65-96 years). Biodex Balance System for the assessment of the dynamic balance and fall risk, short form 36 (SF 36) for the health related quality of life and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) for the evaluation of the psychological well-being were used. Results: After adjustment for age, married group's physical functioning, social functioning, general mental health subscale scores of the SF 36, the mean anterior/posterior score of postural stability test and overall stability index of fall risk test and mean GDS score were statistically better. Conclusion: In this representative older adult population, these findings suggest that the marriage was related with lower fall risk and better health quality with regard to physical functioning, social functioning and general mental health, and also better psychological well being.

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