Population aging and its consequences are a substantial global concern. The growth in the number of older people is one of the most important factors increasing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on society. The Tabriz Older People Health Survey aimed to understand the socio-demographics, health-related behaviors, and health profile of older adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 1362 community-dwelling older adults in Tabriz, the most populated city in northwest Iran. The study used probability proportionate to size sampling and the data collection was undertaken in each participants’ place of residence from July 2019 to January 2020. Trained interviewers administered the questionnaire, which measured each participant’s socio-demographics, health-related behaviors, and health profile. The sample of 1362 participants consisted of 56.4% women and 54.4% were young older people (60–69 years old). Almost half of the sample were completely illiterate. There was no daily walking in 13.3% of the sample, with women reporting a more sedentary lifestyle than men. Almost 10% of the participants (n = 135, 9.9%) were current smokers, which was higher among men (20.9% vs. 1.5%) and women made up over 88% of those living alone. In terms of sleep quality score (men: 4.63 ± 2.70, women: 5.97 ± 2.93), anxiety (men: 5.79 ± 4.70, women: 7.59 ± 5.51), depression (men: 9.54 ± 3.20, women: 10.63 ± 3.09), and social support (men: 23.65 ± 4.50, women: 22.69 ± 4.77), men were significantly better than women. There were also significant sex differences between women and men in the prevalence of diabetes (31.6% vs. 19.5%) and hypertension (86.5% vs. 73.4%). Furthermore, overall hypertension was the most common underlying disease (81.0%). Older women were significantly worse off than older men, in terms of social and disability-related, as well as having a higher burden from several NCDs. The results of this study might help regional health policymakers to identify targets for improving the health status among community-housed geriatrics.
Objectives: To estimate the obesity prevalence in a representative sample of community-dwelling older adults in Tabriz, Iran. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting(s): Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Participants: A representative sample of 1071 (514 males and 557 females) community-dwelling older adults aged≥60 years were selected using the probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling method. Then, anthropometric measures were conducted on 1041 subjects (506 males and 535 females). Outcome Measures: Anthropometric measures including weight, height, body mass index (BMI), hip circumference (HC), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR) were conducted and used for the evaluation of overweight and obesity. Obesity was determined according to traditional BMI classifications and population-appropriate WC criterion cut-offs for the estimation of central adiposity. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 37.4%, 95% CI: 34.5 to 40.4 and 34.3%, 95% CI: 31.4 to 37.3, respectively. Obesity was more prevalent in females (46.6%, 95% CI: 36.9 to 57.2) than in males (21.2, 95% CI: 13.5 to 30.3), but the overweight prevalence was greater in males. Moreover, mean BMI was lower in males than in females (26.9±4.2 kg/ m2 vs. 29.9±6.0 kg/m2 ; P<0.001) and significantly decreased with increasing age. Similarly, mean WC was lower in males than in females (99.7±13.6 cm vs. 102.3±14.3 cm; P=0.002) and decreased significantly with age. Conclusions: The high prevalence of obesity in older people highlights the necessity of designing effective healthy lifestyle interventions and national policies to focus on dietary modification and lifestyle changes and promote physical activity to reduce obesity in aged people, particularly in older Iranian women.
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