Abstract

Background: With a rapid increase of more than 7.7% of India’s population being more than 60 years old, India has been designated as “an aging nation”. Advancing through the process of transition in demography, there have been rising epidemics of chronic non-communicable diseases among the elderly in developing countries, especially lifestyle-based, leading to chronic disabilities.

Aims and Objectives: (1) To assess the comprehensive health status of elderly individuals recruited under the 60-plus project of a tertiary medical institute in South India. (2) To determine the various sociodemographic factors associated with the morbid conditions of the same population covered under the project.

Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional analytical study that was conducted as part of 60-plus project launched in 2019. The total villages covered were 270 in 7.5 months. Total hospital statistics of geriatric patients: OP = 3902 and IP = 2137 were treated at Trichy SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre. Data entry of various variables related to geriatric care was done in an Excel sheet and data analysis was done using SPSS software V 21. Categorical data were depicted in percentages, and Chi-square was used to measure significant differences in categorical variables.

Results: The majority of the respondents in this project were aged between the age group of 60–69 years with the mean age of 64.13 ± 8.65 years, of which the mean age among male patients was 66.56 ± 8.76 years and that of female patients was 62.04 + 7.99 years. The most common comorbidity was gonarthrosis (35.7%), followed by essential hypertension (29.5%), cataracts (28.7%), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (25%). The prevalence of most common comorbidities such as gonarthrosis, essential hypertension, cataracts, and type 2 diabetes mellitus proportionally increases in males with increasing age which is statistically significant.

Conclusion: The existing program (60-plus project) meets the imperative need to address the needs of the elderly in this part of the country covering all the aspects physical, mental, and social. As a fledgling nation in elderly care, India, with this kind of innovative elderly care projects would constantly evolve to identify and face the various challenges that come up, especially from rural settings, for uplifting the primary care services.

Key words: Comprehensive Health Assessment; 60 Plus Geriatric Project; India