Chronic Diseases and Inpatient Care among the Middle-Aged and Elderly People in Indonesia

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of chronic diseases contributes to an increase in healthcare utilization that results in increased vulnerability in middle and old age. This study aims to determine the factors that influence in-patient care among the middle-aged and elderly. Methods: We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study using the Indonesia Family Life Survey 4 (IFLS 4) in 2007 (10,754 participants) and IFLS 5 in 2014 (12,058 participants). Chronic diseases include hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, asthma, coronary heart diseases, liver diseases, cancer, arthritis, gout, high cholesterol, prostate illness, kidney diseases, and digestive diseases. We used the frequency distribution, and logistic regression to analyze the data. Results: The chronic disease that had the highest prevalence was hypertension among 11.7%¡12.2% of the middle-aged and 18.7%-20.6% of the elderly. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus increased almost twice among the elderly (3.4%-6.1%). In 2007, the main predictors of in-patient care among the middle-aged were liver diseases. For the elderly, the main predictors were strokes. In 2014, the main predictors of inpatient care among the middle-aged were heart diseases. However, among the elderly, the main predictors were cancers. Conclusion: The number of chronic diseases and the utilization of inpatient care increased among the middle-aged and the elderly. The main predictors of inpatient care were different between both age groups. This study supports the appropriate methods used for chronic disease prevention programs for middle-aged and elderly in Indonesia.