Prevalence of Health Problems among Elderly in Rural and Urban Areas of Dharwad, Karnataka, India

As people age, many age-related changes are common such as decline in vision and hearing, high blood pressure, muscle weakness, weakened immune system, diabetes, depression and dementia. The sample for the present study comprised of 90 rural and 90 urban elderly were selected through snowball method from Dharwad Taluk. Health status of elderly was assessed by using Ageing schedule Badiger and Kamat (2009). Results revealed that majority of the elderly from urban area had common health problems to a greater extent such as poor vision (54.5%), dental problems (52.4%), depression (51%), back pain (50%), uncontrollable bladder (47.7%) and reproductive problems (45.5%). With regard rural elderly most of them had common health problems to some extent like poor vision (65.5%), poor hearing (52.2%), dental problems (50%) and uncontrollable bladder (48.8%). About chronic health problems, more than half of rural elderly (to some extent) and urban elderly (to greater extent) had hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and respiratory problems. The rate of overall health status was good among rural elderly as compared to urban elderly. However, many elderly from both areas had no common/chronic health problems like skin issues, tremors, fatigue, dementia, headache, acidity, cardiovascular and respiratory problems. There is a need for the elderly to get immediate health facilities, financial assistance for medicines and services through Government and NGOs for better health status.