1Associate Professor, Dept. of TB & Chest, Santosh Medical College, Ghaziabad
2Professor & Head, Dept. of TB & Chest, Santosh Medical College, Ghaziabad
3Course Director & Scientist G, Division of Biostatics & epidemiology, ICPO (ICMR)
4National Professor, Dept. of Geriatrics, ICPO (ICMR)
5Scientist D, ICPO (ICMR)
*Corresponding Author: Email: sonishagupta@gmail.com
Online published on 27 September, 2016.
Ageing is an inevitable physiological process. Old age is characterized by multiple physical and psychological ailments. To understand social and physical problems of elderly a cross-sectional study in a lower middle income society of Ghaziabad was carried out on 1000 elderly.
A questionnaire covering socio-demographic profile and physical morbidities was used as a tool.
Eighty two percent elderly belonged to 60–69 year age group. Forty one percent elderly were illiterate and 66% were financially dependent on others. Almost all elderly (96.3%) were affected by at least one physical ailment with joint pain and hypertension being most common morbidity. A large number of elderly (41.9%) were affected by some disability interfering with daily life, walking difficulty being most common disability.
Changing social structure and continuously increasing elderly population makes it imperative for Government to make policies to ensure dignified care of elderly considering their special needs.
Morbidity Profile, Elderly, Socioeconomic Status
