STRESUL PERCEPUT ȘI CALITATEA VIEȚII LEGATĂ DE STAREA DE SĂNĂTATE LA UN GRUP DE ADULȚI DIN ROMÂNIA.

Background: The impact of stress on Health Related Quality of Life is considered a certainty in modern society, but the magnitude of this phenomenon is still not very well known. Measuring perceived stress level and assessing the correlations with perceived Health Related Quality of Life scores may bring valuable information for medical, public health and also for social interventions. Objective: to assess the level of perceived stress in relationship with self evaluated Health Related Quality of Life both on physical and mental components and by the eight domains. Materials and methods: A sample of 928 adult subjects was selected through "snow ball method" from different geographic regions of Romania. Two well-known tools have been used for collecting data: Perceived Stress Scale 14 items (PSS-14) for measuring perceived stress level and SF-36v2 Health Survey, for perceived Health Related Quality of Life assessment. Possible correlation between PSS-14 scores level and different levels of SF-36 scores, by physical and mental components and by the eight domains, have been analyzed. Results: The lowest SF-36 score value was registered for vitality (61.8±17.69) and the highest for physical functioning (84.1±20.52), MCS and PCS had closed values (71.7±19.02 and 74.5±19.44 respectively). Males and people from urban areas tend to have a better perceived HRQoL, also people from Transilvania. Perceived HRQoL score decreases with age, especially after 55 years but it is positively correlated with education and income level, excepting an intriguing gap in 2000 - 2499 lei group. Significant moderate negative correlations were identified between PSS-14 scores and all SF- 36 Health Survey components - both Physical and Mental scores and for all of the eight analyzed domains. Conclusions: Study results provide additional arguments regarding the importance of perceived stress level assessment in medical, public health and social interventions, together with tailored stress reduction measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]