Ph.D., Professor S.S. Gulyaeva¹
Dr.Hab., Professor S.S. Dobrovol'skiy^2
1Churapcha State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport, Churapcha settlement
²Far Eastern State Academy of Physical Culture, Khabarovsk

Keywords: Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), components of quality of life, SF-36 survey, population survey.

Introduction. Experts suggest various technologies and methods of studying physical and psychoemotional state of man. We determined the quality of life of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) residents based on the compilation of data on self-assessment of their physical and psychoemotional state as one of the key factors of well-being.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the quality of life of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) residents using the specific SF-36 survey and to provide scientific interpretation of the findings.

Materials and methods. The objective of the SF-36 survey is to satisfy the minimum psychometric standards needed for group comparisons. Its methods are used to study all components of quality of life. To develop this survey the researchers chose only 8 health concepts out of 40, most frequently applied in population-based studies and subjected to disease impact and treatment. Analysis revealed that these 8 concepts represent integral characteristics of health such as function and dysfunction, stress and well-being, objective and subjective estimates, positive and negative self-rating of general well-being [1, 2].

The respondents were to answer 11 questions and estimate their physical and psychoemotional state: 1. “Generally, how would you rate your health condition?”; 2.”How would you estimate your state of health in contrast to the previous year?”; 3. “Do you feel like your present state of health prevent you from performing physical activities listed below? If it does, then to what extent?”; 4. “Have you had any difficulties in work or any other daily activities due to your physical condition for the last 4 weeks, what was the reason for this?”; 5. “Have you had any difficulties in work or any other daily activities due to your emotional state for the last 4 weeks?”; 6. “To what extent have your physical and emotional state prevented you from spending time with family, friends, neighbors or colleagues for the last 4 weeks?”; 7. “How strong was the bodily pain you have suffered from for the last 4 weeks?”; 8. “How much has the pain hindered you from doing your regular activities during the last 4 weeks?”; 9. The next questions concern your state of health and mind during the last 4 weeks (questions a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i); 10. “How often for the last 4 weeks have your physical and emotional state prevented you from effective communication with people (visiting friends, relatives etc)?”; 11. “To what extent do you consider the following statements “true” or “false” towards you?” (answers a, b, c, d).

The survey has the following scales:

1.  Physical Functioning (PF).

2.  Role-Physical (RР) Functioning.

3.  Bodily Pain (BP).

4.  General Health (GH).

5.  Vitality (VT).

6.  Social Functioning (SF).

7.  Role-Emotional (RE) Functioning.

 8. Mental Health (MH).

All scales of the survey are grouped into two summary measures:

1. Physical Health – PH.

Scale items:

– Physical Functioning;

– Role-Physical;

– Bodily Pain;

– General Health.

2. Mental Health – MH.

Scale items:

– Vitality;

– Social Functioning;

– Role-Emotional;

– Mental Health [3].

Subject  to the survey of the population of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) were 758 people (aged 18-60 years) of various social groups and professions. Among them, there were 350 female and 408 male respondents from 15 regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Results and discussion. The results were statistically processed using the special software Statistica 6.0. Reliability was determined using Student's t-test. The differences were considered reliable at p<0,05. At the initial stage of the study, the comparative analysis of the main criteria of quality of life of male and female groups was carried out (Table 1).

Table 1. Comparative indices of the main criteria of quality of life

* p<0,05 – differences between the compared male and female groups are reliable

As seen from the findings, the level of all criteria of quality of life is above average. This testifies to the fact that respondents highly evaluate the quality of their life.

According to the studies, all men’s quality of life scores are higher than those of women. Statistically significant were the differences between the PF, RP and MH scores. This may testify to the fact that women's physical and daily activities can be limited by their health state. It has been found that women are more prone to depression and anxiety as compared with men.

In order to compare the women's quality of life scores, the respondents were split into four age groups: 18-30, 30-40, 40-50 and 50-60 years old. The findings show that the PF, SF, GH levels tend to decrease with age. We can assume that this is due to the decrease of the general level of social and physical activity, limited social contacts due to age (Table 2).

Table 2. Women's scores by age groups

Such indicators as VT, RE, MH are apt to decrease in the age range of 50-60, which may indicate fatigue, decline in emotional well-being, depressive and anxiety experienced by respondents.

The study of men's health by age groups revealed the highest scores in the PF, SF sections. The dynamics of these indicators is undulatory, slightly decreasing by the age of 30-40 and increasing by 40-50. Similar dynamics is observed in the RE and VT scores. The findings are given in Table 3.

Table 3. Men's scores by age groups

* p<0,05 – the differences between the compared groups are reliable.

Along with that, we observe a decrease of the GH and MH scores, which may be due to lower self-rating of health, depression and anxiety experienced by the respondents. At the same time, RP and BP scores tend to increase, which may testify to increased daily activity of respondents.

Conclusions. When evaluating the quality of life and health of Sakha Republic (Yakutia) residents, physical, role and social functioning were found to be the most relevant components, generally conditioned by physical state. It has been determined that the levels of physical, role and mental functioning are significantly higher than those of women. Women of different age have the highest scores of physical and social functioning and men – the criteria of quality of life and health: physical, role and social functioning, conditioned by physical state.

References

1. Bobkov, V. Kachestvo zhizni: sushchnost' i pokazateli (Quality of life: nature and performance) / V. Bobkov, P. Mstislavskiy // Chelovek i trud. – 2005. – № 6. – P. 76–79.
2. Leyfa, A.V. Kachestvo zhizni, zdorov'e i fizicheskaya aktivnost' studencheskoy molodezhi Dal'nego Vostoka i Zabaykal'ya: monografiya (Quality of life, health and physical activity of students of Far East and Transbaikalia: monograph) / A.V. Leyfa, Yu.M. Pelerman, M.Yu. Shvetsov. – Chita, 2010. – 260 P. – ISBN 987-5-80440712-0
3. Ware, J.E., Sherburn, C.D. The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). Conceptual framework and item selection // Med. Care. 1992. – Vol. 30. – P. 437–483.

Corresponding author: dobrovolsky@list.ru