Page 67 - IJPS-11-1

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Health-related quality of life and survival of

older adults in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil: A
retrospective analysis from 2008 to 2018

Donatila Barbieri de Oliveira Souza 1 , Luciana Correia Alves 2 ,
1
Marilisa Berti de Azevedo Barros 1 , and Margareth Guimarães Lima *
1 Department of Collective Health, School of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas
(UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
2 Department of Demography, Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences, State University of
Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract
As the average life expectancy continues to rise, the prevalence of multimorbidity is
also expected to increase, potentially leading to outcomes such as functional decline, a
higher risk of premature death, and adverse effects on overall health and well-being. This
*Corresponding author: study aimed to estimate the survival rates of older adults with varying levels of health-
Margareth Guimarães Lima related quality of life (HRQoL) and to assess the association between the domains and
(mglima@unicamp.br) components of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey and all-cause mortality over a
Citation: Souza, D.B.O., Alves, 10-year period in Brazil. We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study using baseline
L.C., Barros, M.B.A., & Lima, M.G. data from 1,520 elders (aged 60 years and older) who participated in the Health Care
(2025). Health-related quality of Survey of the Municipality of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil (ISACamp 2008/2009). A linkage
life and survival of older adults in
Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil: A was established between the ISACamp databases and the Mortality Information
retrospective analysis from 2008 System. An active search was performed for individuals whose data could not be paired
to 2018. International Journal of to confirm the death status. Survival functions were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier
Population Studies, 11(1): 61-72.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1928 method, while hazard ratios (with 95% confidence intervals) were determined using Cox
regression analysis. All HRQoL domains showed proportional hazards and statistically
Received: September 27, 2023
significant differences (p < 0.05) between survival curves, except for the bodily pain
1st revised: December 5, 2023 domain. In the multivariate analysis, lower scores in physical functioning and role-
2nd revised: January 3, 2024 physical were associated with a 74% and 42% increased risk of death, respectively. In
addition, impairments in role-emotional, mental health, and general health heightened
3rd revised: April 11, 2024
the risk of mortality by approximately 36%. Notably, the lowest score in the physical
Accepted: April 26, 2024 component emerged as a significant predictor of mortality, increasing the probability
Published Online: November 7, of death by 47%, while the mental component showed no significant association. Our
2024 findings provide compelling evidence of the predictive capacity of HRQoL in evaluating
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). mortality risk among older people in low- and middle-income countries.
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Quality of life; Health-related quality of life; Mortality; Survival analysis; Cohort
License, permitting distribution, studies; Elderly
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Estimates suggest that the world population aged 60 years and older will nearly double
affiliations. between 2015 and 2050, rising from 12% to 22% (World Health Organization, 2021).

Volume 11 Issue 1 (2025) 61 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1928