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Abstract:
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Self-assessment through the application of well- constructed surveys is a diagnostic tool that can be used to identify high risk individuals within a population. The short form health survey (SF-36) is a multi-purpose assessment tool that measures health-related quality of life including mental and physical well-being and functionality. The objective of our analysis is to identify some of the physical characteristics that significantly influence both physical and mental well-being as assessed by vitality and physical functioning domains in the SF-36. Our study sample consists of 304 (121 males, 183 females) adult participants ranging in age from 20 to 86 years. Approximately 35.5 % are non-Hispanic blacks (n=108). We assessed participants’ total body fat free mass (FFM) and leg fat free mass (LFFM) using dual X-ray absorptiometry (Lunar, GE Health Care) and quadriceps muscle thickness (QMT) using ultrasound. We used backward linear regression analyses to determine the significance of independent variables (age, sex, race, BMI, QMT or LFFM) on two domains of SF-36: vitality and physical functioning. Mean (standard deviations) vitality and physical functioning scores were 64.8 (18.8) and 84.0 (21.8) respectively. In our study population, age had a significant positive relationship with vitality and a significant negative relationship with physical functioning. Non-Hispanic blacks had significantly lower physical functioning. An increase in BMI was significantly related to both lower vitality and physical functioning. LFFM had a positive relationship with both vitality and physical functioning after adjusting for BMI as did FFM when used in lieu of LFFM. QMT had a significant positive effect on physical functioning but was not related to vitality. In summary, we have identified physical characteristics that have significant effects on self-assessed vitality and physical functioning scores obtained using SF-36. |
