A comparative study for the healthy lifestyles of Turkish and Kurdish elders in Urmia

Health is known as a lifestyle and prevention of disease treatment that is affected by the economic, social, political, environmental, and cultural conditions of individuals. Studies show that ethnicities are in different socio-economic conditions that can affect their health. In the present study, data were collected from the survey technique through a structured questionnaire from people aged 60 and over in Urmia, which included 386 elderly Kurds and Turks (226 Turks and 161 Kurds). Data analysis showed that the mean and standard deviation for the nine studied dimensions were 17.83 and 2.18 for Turkish ethnicity and 18.48 and 2.11 for Kurdish ethnicity with a significance level of 0.004, respectively. The results of multivariate analysis showed that ethnicity without control of demographic and economic variables has a positive effect of 0.145 on the lifestyle of the elderly, which increases to 0.182 by controlling this variable  and monthly income and ethnicity (being Kurdish) have the most positive and significant effect on it. Findings showed that socio-demographic and economic conditions make a significant difference in the healthy lifestyle of the two ethnicities. The Kurdish elders have a healthier lifestyle than the Turkish elders, which can indicate a better economic situation of the Kurds compared to the Turks at Urmia.