Prevalence of Psycho-Social Problems among Elderly in Urban Population of Mysore City, Karnataka, India

The reduction in fertility level, reinforced by steady increase in the life expectancy has produced fundamental changes in the age structure of the population, which in turn leads to the ageing population.

To know the psycho-social problems of the elderly in urban population of Mysore. To determine the extent of functional impairment among the elderly. To know the psychological distress of the elderly using GHQ score.

This community based Cross sectional study was carried out at the field practice area of Urban Health Centre, JSS medical college, Mysore. The study population comprises of all geriatric population aged 60 years or above who were residing in the study area for atleast one year. 526 study subjects were recruited for the study. Data collection was done from May 2011 to December 2011 using a preformed semi-structured schedule. Data was entered into Microsoft excel and Statistical analysis is carried out using SPSS 17 Version.

Most of elderly men (78.3%) were more functional than elderly women (75.2%). Severe functional impairment was almost same in both gender (4%) while moderate imparement was noted more among aged women. The functional score was significantly higher for young old, for literates, for middle class and for employed. Anxiety & Insomnia were found in 3.4% of the aged (males 2.4% and females 4.1%) followed by somatic symptoms (2.9%), social dysfunction (1.5%) and severe depression (1.1%). overall psychological distress was more among elderly women. The prevalence of mental illnesses were found to be significantly higher for old old.

Awareness among the elderly population should be created for regular medical check-ups to ensure prevention and early detection of the chronic diseases. There is a need to have geriatric wards having specialised professionals with psychiatric and medical social workers along with subsidized health care services.