YEREVAN, Armenia — The American University of Armenia Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian College of Health Sciences is pleased to announce a new publication by Diana Muradyan (MPH ’20), M.D., Ph.D.; Aida Giloyan (MPH ’07), M.S.; Tsovinar Harutyunyan (MPH ’99), Ph.D.; and Varduhi Petrosyan, M.S., Ph.D., in Geriatric Nursing, a peer-reviewed scientific journal with an impact factor of 2.4 and a Q1 ranking. The journal publishes high-quality, evidence-based research, educational, clinical, and policy-focused articles aimed at improving the health, well-being, and quality of care for older adults across diverse healthcare settings.
The article, “A cross-sectional investigation of the impact of non-communicable diseases and multimorbidity on health-related quality of life in nursing home residents in Armenia,” examines the relationship between hypertension, heart disease, bone/joint diseases, diabetes, gastrointestinal disease (GIT), respiratory disease/asthma, renal disease, stroke, and cancer, and both the physical and mental health components of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among nursing home residents in Armenia.
The study found that the most prevalent NCDs among nursing home residents were bone/joint diseases (30.7%), hypertension (27.5%), and heart diseases (18.5%). Individuals with multiple NCDs reported significantly lower physical and mental HRQoL scores. The study indicated that kidney disease had the widest impact, affecting both the physical health and mental well-being of older adults. Other conditions, such as heart disease, respiratory diseases or asthma, and bone or joint problems, were mainly linked to poorer physical health.
Further analysis showed that people with heart and kidney diseases reported more pain and poorer overall health than others. Bone and joint problems affect all aspects of physical functioning, indicating that they can limit daily activities in many ways. In addition, kidney disease was also linked to lower energy levels and poorer mental well-being.
These findings demonstrate that NCDs, particularly kidney and bone/joint diseases, substantially impair HRQoL. The study adds to the growing evidence on aging and the burden of NCDs, highlighting the critical importance of integrated monitoring of both physical and mental health in older populations. The results underscore the urgent need for targeted, comprehensive NCD management strategies, particularly among nursing home residents with multimorbidity.
The AUA Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, nursing, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.