Older nursing-home residents in Iran had generally poorer health indicators
A review comparing living settings found mostly less favorable results for nursing-home residents, including quality of life. It cannot explain whether the setting caused those differences.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Across the reviewed studies, older nursing-home residents generally had less favorable health indicators than older people living at home. Results covered general health, loneliness, depression, and quality of life, with uncertainty around the depression difference. These comparisons describe differences between groups; they do not establish that entering a nursing home worsens health.
The abstract does not identify the confidence level of its reported intervals or describe adjustments for differences between the groups. It therefore cannot establish that living in a nursing home caused poorer health.
Different aspects of health
The review combined results from studies comparing older adults in different living settings. It used several questionnaires, so the reported outcomes represent distinct aspects of health rather than a single interchangeable measure.
The pattern was not uniform
The depression estimate was less conclusive than the quality-of-life results. A broad pattern across outcomes should not erase that uncertainty, and statistical differences do not by themselves explain what produced them.
The original publication
The comparison of general health indicators among older people residents in nursing homes and homes in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Azami-Aghdash S, Rad KM, Mobarak Z et al.
BMC Geriatr · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41316047
- Record checked
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