Quality of life in older adults according to race/color: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Increased longevity is accompanied by new social and health demands, such as the race/ color social construct, indicating the need to identify the specific needs of older adults to maintain and improve their quality of life. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to verify the direct and indirect associations of demographic, economic, and biopsychosocial characteristics with self-assessed quality of life in older adults according to race/color. DESIGN AND SETTING: This cross-sectional study included 941 older adults living in the urban area of a health microregion in Minas Gerais, Brazil. METHODS: Older adults were divided into three groups: white (n = 585), brown (n = 238), and black (n = 102) race/color. Descriptive and trajectory analyses were performed (P < 0.05). RESULTS: Among the three groups, worse self-assessed quality of life was directly associated with lower social support scores and greater numbers of depressive symptoms. Worse self-assessed quality of life was also directly associated with a higher number of functional disabilities in basic activities of daily living and the absence of a partner among older adults of brown and black race/color. Lower monthly income and higher numbers of morbidities and compromised components of the frailty phenotype were observed among participants of white race/color, as well as lower levels of education in the brown race/color group. CONCLUSION: Factors associated with poorer self-assessed quality of life among older adults in the study community differed according to race/color.