Indian Journal of Forensic and Community Medicine

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Morbidity pattern among the geriatric population in rural area of Haldwani block in Nainital district of Uttarakhand

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Author Details: Janki Bartwal, Chandra Mohan Singh Rawat, Sadhana Awasthi

Volume : 3

Issue : 3

Online ISSN : 2394-6776

Print ISSN : 2394-6768

Article First Page : 209

Article End Page : 213

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Abstract

Background: Health is the single most important determinant of the quality of life among elderly. With advancing age, ill-health becomes a major hindrance for the well-being of the elderly. Thus this study was conducted with the objective to know the morbidity pattern in geriatric population and to identify factors influencing their morbidity status.
Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out in rural field practice area of the Department of Community Medicine. 440 geriatric were selected by two stage sampling technique. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was administered to obtain the data. Data was analyzed using SPSS v 16. Chi-square was used to test the association and p<0.05 was considered as significant.
Results: Among 440, majority of the elderly (59.6%) were in the age group of 60-69 years. Mostly were females (57.5%). 11.4% of the geriatric were not suffering from any form of morbidity. Most common morbidity was ocular (53.6%), followed by CVS (40%) and musculoskeletal (34.8%). Respiratory and Genitourinary system were more involved in elderly males as compared to that of females. Morbidity was found to be significant with increase in age, female sex, marital status and living arrangement.
Conclusion: Majority of the elderly were suffering from one or the other disease. Morbidity pattern shows that age related disorder are more common and need attention from earlier stage so that postponement of the disorder or rather timely prevention can be done.

Keywords: Geriatric, Morbidity, Rural, Socio-demographic factors