LIFE EVENTS AND THE QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN OLD-AGE - REPORT FROM A MEDICAL-SOCIAL INTERVENTION STUDY

In a broad medical-social intervention study in Sweden regarding the p ossibility of postponing/preventing age-related dysfunction, changes i n the subjective evaluation of quality of life (QL) and the experience of major life events (LE) were recorded in the age interval 70-76 yea rs. Significantly more negative than positive LE were reported, and th e most common was related to disease and death in the family. Children 's divorce was rated as the most serious negative LE; the most common positive LE were travel and birth of a grandchild, but recovery from d isease was ranked highest. Despite the predominance of negative LE, QL scores improved both in a representative population sample that was g iven support in the form of a medical-social intervention for 2 years, and in a control sample that underwent the identical systematical hea lth surveys but received no further active help. As the study did not demonstrate any differences in outcome measurement (QL) between the su pported subjects and the controls, it was not possible to discern whet her the retained well-being could be attributed the intervention as wa s hypothesized.