Nesrin Yagci

A new tool measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL): The effects of musculoskeletal pain in a group of older Turkish people

The aims of this study were (1) to show the effects of musculoskeletal pain on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and (2) to look at gender differences in this field in elderly people living in Turkey. Subjects were 900 men and women (65 years of age or above), with a mean of 70.93+/-5.6 years. The centers for disease control (CDC) HRQOL-4 survey tool was used to measure HRQOL of the subjects. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to determine pain intensity. The subjects were also asked to indicate sites where they experienced pain in their body. Of the subjects, 72.1% reported musculoskeletal pain. The prevalence of pain was higher among women (85.5%) than men (61.8%). Pain of lower extremities was the most common in both sexes. Whereas the majority of the subjects with musculoskeletal pain reported fair-poor self-rated health, those without pain reported excellent-very good-good health. Compared with subjects who did not report pain, those with pain had increased the number of physically and mentally unhealthy days in the previous 30 days (p=0.0001). The investigators concluded that musculoskeletal pain interfered negatively with HRQOL, increasing the number of unhealthy days and decreasing physical and mental performance in the elderly participants.

Attitudes of physiotherapists and physiotherapy students toward euthanasia: a comparative study.

This interventional study was undertaken to assess the impact of physiotherapy education on the knowledge and attitudes of physiotherapists (PTs) and physiotherapy students (PSs) toward euthanasia. The study, which was conducted during the period between 2004 and 2005, included a total of 494 participants (311 PTs; 183 PSs) aged 18 to 52 y from the western and central portions of Turkey, who responded to a self-report questionnaire (response rate, 96.4%) that was based on data from the literature. Results indicated that PTs (48.9%) were more likely to approve of euthanasia than PSs (38.3%) (P<.05). The legalization of euthanasia was favored by 43.7% of PTs, compared with 29.5% of PSs (P<.05). On the other hand, PTs and PSs expressed similar views regarding euthanasia, including reasons for accepting or opposing euthanasia and acceptable conditions for its use (P> .05). Overall results showed that sex and age had no effect on whether euthanasia was accepted (P> .05); religiousness was found to have the greatest effect on attitudes toward euthanasia (P<.05). The findings of the current study suggest that (1) the attitudes of PTs are different from those of PSs, and (2) the Islamic point of view has a negative impact on the attitudes of PTs and PSs toward euthanasia.

How does pain localization affect physical functioning, emotional status and independency in older adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain?

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to show the impact of chronic musculoskeletal pain of the spinal column and lower extremities on physical functioning, emotional status, and independency in older adults. [Subjects] In this cross-sectional study, 258 older adults (mean age, 71.98±5.86 years, 50.8% males, 49.2% females) living in their own residences were evaluated. [Methods] Pain intensity was analyzed using a visual analogue scale. Physical functioning was evaluated with the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) and a Six-Minute Walk Test. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to determine emotional status. The independency in daily living of the participants was evaluated using the Lawton Brody IADL Scale. All participants were divided into two groups in accordance with the pain localization: the (1) spinal pain and (2) lower extremity pain groups. [Results] When the pain scores were compared, no significant differences between the two groups were found. The same results were found in terms of TUG scores. The spinal pain group had higher scores in terms of aerobic capacity than the lower extremity pain group. [Conclusion] The results indicate that chronic musculoskeletal pain in the lower extremities decreased aerobic capacity much more than spinal pain in older adults.

Quality of life, depression and musculoskeletal pain experience among employed women: A controlled study.

OBJECTIVE The musculoskeletal pain is one of the leading health problems among employed women. The aim of our study was to examine musculoskeletal pain, depression and quality of life (QOL) among employed women and find out the differences with unemployed women. METHODS A hundred and fifty employed women and 151 housewives were included in our study. We used visual analog scale (VAS) for the assessment of pain, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for the depressive symptoms and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) for the assessment of QOL. RESULTS The ratio of musculoskeletal pain among employed women and unemployed women were found as 42.5% and 57.5% respectively. A mild level of depression was found among employed women whereas moderate and vigorous level of depression were found among unemployed women. There were significant differences in terms of depression and QOL parameters. When the correlations of pain, depression and QOL were analyzed, significant high positive relationships between spinal, lower extremity, upper extremity pain levels and BDI and NHP were found only in housewives. CONCLUSIONS Lower levels of depression among employed women can give the idea that social ambience at work place, focusing at work and economic independence play a role in decreasing depression.