Successful Aging and Self-Neglect Among Community-Dwelling Older People

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Community-dwelling older adults often face challenges impacting their quality of life.
• Understanding factors contributing to successful aging is crucial for developing targeted interventions.
• Self-neglect is a growing concern among the elderly population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between successful aging and self-neglect in older adults.
• To identify key factors influencing successful aging among community-dwelling elderly individuals.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 316 participants aged 60+ from a Family Health Center.
• Data collected using questionnaires assessing sociodemographic characteristics, successful aging, self-neglect, independence, well-being, psychosocial support, and depressive symptoms.
• Statistical analyses included correlation and multivariate linear regression.

Main Results:

• A strong positive correlation (r = 0.741, p < 0.001) was found between successful aging and self-neglect.
• Significant factors influencing successful aging included age, working status, education, BMI, physical activity, subjective health, health screening, self-neglect level, depressive symptoms, independence, well-being, and psychosocial support.
• Multivariate analysis identified age, psychosocial support, and self-neglect level as key predictors (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Older adults in the study exhibited low scores for both successful aging and self-neglect.
• Younger age, presence of psychosocial support, and lower self-neglect levels are associated with better successful aging.
• Interventions should focus on enhancing psychosocial support and reducing self-neglect to promote successful aging.