This study investigated the contribution of each quality of life domain (physical, social, psychological and environmental) in the overall quality of life and how these domains explain the overall quality of life of elderly people resident in the city of Teixeiras, Southeastern Brazil. It is a cross-sectional observational study, random sampling stratified by gender, Family Health Program use and health micro-region (n = 211 individuals aged 60 or over), representing 14.28% of elderly people in the total municipality in study. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-Bref) was used to assess the quality of life; it was applied by only one well trained interviewer. Linear regression analyses showed that none of the sociodemographic variables interfered significantly in the overall quality of life domain and, among the four domains, physical was the one that best explained the overall quality of life, followed by the environmental and psychological domains. The social domain did not show significant contribution to the overall quality of life. The possible explanations for the results were discussed.
Aging; elderly people's health; quality of life; WHOQOL-Bref
