Differences in quality of life in rural and urban populations.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To examine the predictors of health related, quality of life in rural and urban populations.

METHODS: Parents and grandparents of students from 20 randomly selected primary schools in urban and rural areas of Kirikkale, Turkey were questioned for health-related quality of life (HRQL) and psychological distress, using the Short Form-12 (SF-12) Health Survey and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS), respectively, which were returned by their children.

RESULTS: Of 13,225 parents and grandparents 12,270 returned the questionnaires, for an overall response rate of 92.7%. SF-12 physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS), and overall scores were lower in participants from rural than those from urban areas. Mean HADS overall score was higher in subjects from rural than those from urban areas (16.6+/-6.8 vs. 14.8+/-6.8, P=0.0001). A linear regression model showed associations between SF-12 overall, PCS, and MCS scores with HAD total score after adjusting for sex, age, BMI, smoking, income, and education.

CONCLUSIONS: Quality of life scores in subjects vary between areas. Psychological distress in subjects in rural areas may account for the poorer scores of quality of life in rural areas.