Quality of Life (QoL) refers to a person’s subjective evaluation of their well-being within their cultural and social setting. Although much of the existing QoL research concentrates on people with specific illnesses, sociodemographic characteristics such as sex, marital status, educational attainment, and family composition may also shape QoL independently of age and health status. Given the scarcity of evidence on QoL within the general Indian population—particularly among rural communities—the current study seeks to assess QoL and identify sociodemographic determinants influencing QoL among adults living in rural Punjab. A community-based cross-sectional investigation was carried out among 931 adults of both sexes (59.6% women), aged 20–75 years, residing in rural regions of Mansa district, Punjab, India. Sociodemographic characteristics were obtained through structured interviews, and QoL was evaluated using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument.
The mean overall QoL score was 67.44 ± 14.7. The physical domain showed the greatest impairment (mean = 60.203 ± 13.49), followed by the psychological (mean = 65.67 ± 18.3), social-relationship (mean = 69.88 ± 26.43), and environmental domains (mean = 74.05 ± 20.58). Adjusted logistic regression analysis indicated that female sex, older age (≥ 60 years), illiteracy, and unmarried status were positively associated with poor QoL, whereas a family size of 6–10 members showed a negative association with poor QoL. The findings indicate that women, older adults, individuals without literacy, and those who are unmarried may be more vulnerable to poorer QoL. In addition, higher educational levels and larger family size appear to enhance perceived well-being among participants.
