HEALTHY senior citizens living together as couples report the highest quality of life and single ones in residential homes the lowest according to a study funded from Swindon.

The Economic and Social Research Council, which is based in North Star, backed a survey run jointly by the University of Surrey Roehampton and the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability.

For three years, the team monitored a selection of people aged 65-98 in Wandsworth, London.

They found that next to having a partner, older people identified family and good health as important to their quality of life.

Older people also listed belonging to a church, mobility, membership of lunch clubs and general independence as important.

Professor Graham Beaumont, who led the university's contribution to the study, said: "Over the whole range of factors directly affecting people's perception of their quality of life, the social environment including home, safety, finances, services, leisure, environ- ment and transport is the single most important.

"We found that those in residential homes gave the lowest ratings on all counts when compared with anyone living with a partner, family or friends," Prof Beaumont said.

"It is true that those in residential homes were generally older, less sharp mentally and suffered more from health problems.

"However, health did not account for the difference in our results," he said.

The study found that older people saw physical disability as a factor in a lower quality of life.

The research also discovered that the more disabled were likely to live in sheltered or rented accommodation.

They were also more likely than the rest of their contemporaries to suffer from poor self-esteem or depression.