Key result
Hypertension affects ~77% of older South Indian adults, topping visual impairment and knee pain.
Why the study?
The rise in geriatric population in India is accompanied by an increase in geriatric-related morbidity requiring special attention and care.
Observational (n=1,000)
No
The study reveals a high burden of comorbidities, particularly hypertension, visual impairment, and knee pain, among the geriatric population in South India, emphasizing the need for specific preventive healthcare strategies.
Indicates high comorbidity burden in South Indian older adults; hypothesis-generating for region-specific strategies pending prospective data.
Introduction: India, the second most populous country in the world is expected to have an increase in geriatric population of 37% by 2051.Along with the rise in geriatric population there is also a rise in geriatric related morbidity which requires special attention and care. Methods: This was a community-based study, consisting of house to house survey of all people aged 65 years and above in Ernakulam district. Residents of Ernakulam district who are ambulant and above the age of 65 years formed the study population of this study. Subjects aged 65 years and above were selected for the study using multi stage stratified random cluster sampling method. A total of 1000 samples were collected. Results: Among the 1000 study subjects, 342(34.2%) were diabetic 768(76.8%) were hypertensive and 248(24.8%) were suffering from dyslipidemia. Hypertension (76.8%) followed by visual impairment (59.4%) and knee pain (56.5%) were the most common comorbidities in the present study population. Conclusion: The incidence of all the study parameters among the elderly population was very high in comparison with studies from other parts of India. A substantial impact on this burden, unique preventive health care strategies specific to the elderly need to be clearly formulated and tested.
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Divyamol K Sasidharan (2018) conducted an observational in Geriatric morbidity (n=1,000). Among 1,000 older adults in South India, the most common comorbidities were hypertension (76.8%), visual impairment (59.4%), and knee pain (56.5%).