Document Type : Research articles

Authors

• Walieh Menati ¹
• Abdolvahab Baghbanian ²
• Mohsen Asadi-Lari ³
• Javad Moazen ⁴
• Rostam Menati ⁵
• Malihe Sohrabivafa ⁶
• Ali Sadeghi Moghaddam ⁷
• Aziz Kassani ⁸

¹ MSc of Epidemiology, Prevention of Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

² S/Lecturer and Research Fellow in Health Policy and Economics, Health Systems and Global Populations, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

³ Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran

⁴ Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, IR Iran

⁵ PhD student of Sociology, Prevention of Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

⁶ MSc of Health Promotion, School of Medicine, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, Iran

⁷ MSc of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, IR Iran

⁸ Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, IR Iran

Abstract

Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the main determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), where people with lower SES experience more health problems, have a lower quality of life, and are exposed to have a greater number of healthrelated risk factors.
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationships between HRQoL, SES, and several demographic factors among the residents of the city of Ilam (located at the West of Iran).
Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 400 households from 3 districts of the city of Ilam in 2015. The participants were selected on the basis of the multistage sampling method. The second version of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12v2) questionnaire and the Wealth Index were used to measure HRQoL and SES, respectively.
Results: The mean scores of the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS) were 46.32±9.69 and 42.12 ± 9.11, respectively. The findings indicated that PCS (P = 0.01) and MCS (P = 0.01) were significantly related to SES (wealth index). The demographic variables of age, gender, education level, marital status, job status, and home ownership (P < 0.05) were also significantly related to both PCS and MCS.
Conclusions: HRQoL is directly related to SES, in that HRQoL is higher in families with higher SES. Similarly, HRQL is higher in younger people, men, and those with a university degree. A decrease in socio-economic inequalities and the gap between the rich and the poor can enhance the individuals’ health status and HRQoL within a community

Keywords

• Quality of Life
• Socioeconomic Status
• Health Inequalities
• Iran