Prevalence of disability in activities of daily living among elderly in a rural community of Puducherry

Abstract

Background: Normal ageing changes, acute illness and worsening chronic illness can lead to a decline in the ability to perform day to day tasks necessary to live independently. This research aims to study about the disability in activities of daily living among rural elderly in an union territory of south India.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted for three months among 245 randomly selected rural elderly aged ≥60 years. Everyday abilities scale for India was used to assess disability in activities of daily living. Results were expressed in frequencies and percentages. Appropriate univariate and multivariate analyses were done.Results: The prevalence of disability in activities of daily living was found to be 13.9%. Univariate analysis found out that illiteracy, economic dependency, marital status, living arrangement and presence of sleep problems were significantly associated with disability in activities of daily living. Multivariate analysis observed that predictors of disability were economic dependency (aOR, 95% CI=9.15, 2.94–28.47) and living arrangement (aOR, 95% CI =8.00, 2.46–26.01).Conclusions: Disability in activities of daily living is a neglected serious issue and needs a community-based primary health care approach.