Morbidity profile of noncommunicable diseases among elderly in a city in North India

Background Ageing is not an illness, but the elderly are vulnerable to slowly evolving chronic diseases. The difficulties faced by the elderly are uncountable leading to social and cultural differences in the present Indian society. Objective This study was conducted to assess the socio-demographic profile, lifestyle practices and morbidities of the elderly and their association, particularly with non-communicable diseases. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the field practice area of a medical college in a city in north part of India. A total of 225 elderly patients (60 years old and above) residing in urban area were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire through house-to-house visit. Results Out of the total, there were 51.1% females (n=115), 99.1% Hindus (n=223), 51.1% married (n=115), 79.6% lived in joint families (n=179) and 52.9% belonged to upper middle class (n=119). Tobacco consumption was seen in 62.1% (smoking; n=110) and 19.7% (smokeless; n=35) elderly. About 18% (n=32) were consuming alcohol. More than half of the study participants were not doing physical activity. Majority of the elderly in the study (n=197; 87.6%) had one or more diagnosed diseases at the time of study. Morbidity was found associated with type of family, regular exercise, dietary habit, addiction user, duration of smoking, socio-economic status, alcohol consumption, smoking and tobacco chewing. Conclusion Many of the lifestyle practices such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity were prevalent amongst elderly. Majority of them were suffering from more than one morbidity, which was found to be associated with their unhealthy lifestyle practices. There is a need to target interventions for inculcating healthy lifestyle practices amongst elderly.