CHRONIC MORBIDITY PROFILE AMONG ELDERLY

The most common health problems of the elderly are related to chronic diseases as a result of increase in life expectancy. In India, sporadi c data have been collected on different health problems of the elderly . While epidemiologic studies specifically targeted at the elderly pop ulation are sparce, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has carried out several studies on specific chronic disorders such as hear ing impairment, blindness, cardiovascular diseases, cancer etc. The da ta from these studies covering the aged population have been utilised to provide a chronic morbidity profile of the elderly. Based upon the population estimates, the disease load in the Indian elderly populatio n has been estimated. Hearing impairment is the most common morbidity, followed by visual impairment. The common risk factors associated wit h these chronic diseases, are reported upon, and measures for interven tion are suggested, wherever feasible. The paper does not cover common morbidities. such as locomotor, urinary and sleep disturbances, which have been reported in other surveys. The availability of population b ased data from India, and derives the disease burden due to chronic di seases in the elderly is emphasised. Such data can be used to generate the pattern of health problems in the elderly, for initiating appropr iate intervention strategies and for fixing priorities for planning he alth care services amongst the elderly.