Evaluation of the quality of life among military elderly population in Xi’an

AIM: To study the present situation of the quality of life among the military elderly population in Xi’an. METHODS: The quality of life of 934 military elderly in Xi’an was surveyed by MOS SF 36 questionnaire. RESULTS: Among the 934 military elderly, the good quality of life accounted for 35.3%, the fairly good quality of life accounted for 60.3% and the poor quality of life accounted for 4.4%. The quality of life was different in different armies of services and different military ranks, especially in physical function,mental health,physical limitations and vitality. The subjects had better physical function and vitality than the U.S. norm, but they were reported to suffer worse physical limitations, general health,emotional limitations,social function and mental health than U.S. norm. CONCLUSION: To improve the quality of life of military elderly in an all round manner,the health work of the elderly should be carried out with the emphasis not only on their medical care but also on their mental health.