Morbidity profile of noncommunicable diseases among elderly in a city in North India

Abstract

Background: Ageing is not an illness, but the elderly are vulnerable to slowly evolving chronic diseases. The difficulties faced by the elderly are uncountable leading to social and cultural differences in the present Indian society. Objective: This study was conducted to assess the socio-demographic profile, lifestyle practices and morbidities of the elderly and their association, particularly with non-communicable diseases. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the field practice area of a medical college in a city in north part of India. A total of 225 elderly patients (60 years old and above) residing in urban area were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire through house-to-house visit. Results: Out of the total, there were 51.1% females (n = 115), 99.1% Hindus (n = 223), 51.1% married (n = 115), 79.6% lived in joint families (n = 179) and 52.9% belonged to upper middle class (n = 119). Tobacco consumption was seen in 62.1% (smoking; n = 110) and 19.7% (smokeless; n = 35) elderly. About 18% (n = 32) were consuming alcohol. More than half of the study participants were not doing physical activity. Majority of the elderly in the study (n = 197; 87.6%) had one or more diagnosed diseases at the time of study. Morbidity was found associated with type of family, regular exercise, dietary habit, addiction user, duration of smoking, socioeconomic status, alcohol consumption, smoking and tobacco chewing. Conclusion: Many of the lifestyle practices such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity were prevalent amongst elderly. Majority of them were suffering from more than one morbidity, which was found to be associated with their unhealthy lifestyle practices. There is a need to target interventions for inculcating healthy lifestyle practices amongst elderly.

Morbidity and functional ability in the elderly: a cross sectional study in a rural population of Manipur

“…The prevalence of morbidity in this study was 49.1% which was lower as compared to studies like 70.1% in Kottayam, 93.3 % in Haryana, 87.6% in Delhi. [13][14][15] These variations might be due to difference in lifestyle of different regions where in current study area more people were engaged in some form of physical activity. Current study reported that, visual impairment was the most common morbidity 112 (26.7%) followed by hypertension 90 (20.2%), musculoskeletal diseases 87 (18.3%).…”

“…Ac/06/IEC/JNIMS/2017(PGT) dated 26 th Aug 2017 for study Protocol No. 59 (15) PGT 2017 before the start of research. Written informed consent was taken from the study subjects.…”

Unmet health needs of elderly: a community based cross-sectional study in rural areas of Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu

“…In contrast, a study in North India reported 56% of elderly had any of the addiction habits. 20 This may be attributed to the socio-cultural differences.…”

“…In North India, prevalence of Diabetes among elderly was 12.2%. 20 Diabetes in elderly was reported by 19.7% of study participants in Karnataka and 20.9% in Manipur. 14,23 The high level of diabetes prevalence reported needs further studies.…”

“…In North India 78.8% had reported ocular problems in old age. 20 In Karnataka, the prevalence of diminished vision was 62.9%. 14 The prevalence of hypertension was 18.7%.…”