Assessment of Morbidity Pattern and its correlates among Elderly Population In Rural area of Perambalur, Tamilnadu, India.

Abstract

Introduction: In India, both the share and size of elderly population is increasing over time. Unfortunately, the rapidity of population ageing is expected to outpace social and economic development in developing countries particularly in countries like India. Objectives: To study the prevalence of morbidities in elderly aged 60 and above and to find the socio-demographic factors associated with these morbidities. Material and Methods: The present cross sectional study was carried out at the field practice area of Rural Health Centre, at a medical college in South India. The study population comprises of all geriatric population aged 60 years and above in the study area. The survey was done by house to house visit. The study subjects were subjected for personal interview using a pre-tested and semi-structured interview schedule. Statistical analysis is carried out using SPSS Version 17. Results: Most of the elderly people (54.5%) were in 60-64 yr age group. Morbidity was present in 139 (65.2 %) of elderly people. Common morbidity among elderly people were related to oral cavity & salivary glands 129 (69.6%); musculoskeletal system 114 (53.4%); eye & adenexa 85 (39.9%); endocrine, nutritional & metabolic diseases 60 (28.2%); Ear & mastoid process 45 (21.1%) and skin diseases 42 (19.7%). Increasing age and female gender was the two significant risk factors found to be associated with presence morbidity in the present study. Conclusion: Greater, targeted efforts are needed to identify at-risk elderly people living in the community and to provide them with elderly-friendly primary geriatric care services that may reduce the burden of unmet need. Keywords: Geriatrics, Elderly, Morbidity, Aging 1.