Exploratory analysis of health-related quality of life among the empty-nest elderly in rural China: An empirical study in three economically developed cities in eastern China

Abstract

First, the frequency histograms of EQ-5D show that the scores of empty-nest elderly in rural China are generally low. Second, in all SF-12 items, the HRQOL is low. Third, men's scores are higher than that of women's. The elderly with higher education reported higher scores than those with lower education. Fourth, the effect of socio-demographic variables of the rural Chinese empty-nest elderly on SF-12 scores is more significant, whereas the effect on EQ-5D scores is less significant.