Quality of life among an Iranian general population sample using the World Health Organization's quality of life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF)

Abstract

Objectives: To assess subjective quality of life of an Iranian general population sample. Methods: This was a population-based study. Quality of life was measured using the WHOQOL-BREF. The associations between socio-demographic variables and quality of life were assessed by both univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: In all, 1,164 individuals were studied. The mean age of the participants was 37.6 (SD = 13.2) years, and the mean score for quality of life domains (physical, psychological, social relationship and environment domains) was 14.3 (SD = 2.6), 13.4 (SD = 2.6), 13.9 (SD = 2.6), and 12.3 (SD = 2.4), respectively. The results obtained from univariate analysis did not show a consistent pattern for association between demographic variables and quality of life domains. However, multivariate regression analysis showed that self-reported health condition was the most significant contributing factor to the decreased scores for all domains. Conclusions: Overall, quality of life scores were found to be low among an Iranian general population and greatly varied by socio-demographic variables. In addition, self-reported health condition was found to be the strongest factor affecting people's quality of life. © 2010 Swiss School of Public Health.