Boralingaiah Prakash, Bettappa Prashantha, Kashyap Shraddha
Department of Community Medicine, JSS Medical College, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2012 Oct;34(4):360-4. doi: 10.4103/0253-7176.108221.
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 aging 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 and 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 Center, 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.
162 out of 207 elderly men (78.3%) were more functional than 240 out of 319 aged women (75.2%). Severe functional impairment was almost same in both gender (4%) while moderate imparement was noted slightly more among aged women. The functional score was significantly higher for young old, for literates, for middle class and for employed. Anxiety and 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%. All psychological distress were found more among elderly women. The prevalence of mental illnesses were found to be significantly higher for age more than 75 years.
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 specialized professionals with psychiatric and medical social workers along with subsidized health care services.
生育率的下降，加上预期寿命的稳步增长，使人口年龄结构发生了根本性变化，进而导致人口老龄化。
了解迈索尔城市人口中老年人的心理社会问题；确定老年人功能损害的程度，并使用一般健康问卷（GHQ）得分了解老年人的心理困扰。
本社区横断面研究在迈索尔JSS医学院城市健康中心的现场实践区域进行。研究人群包括所有年龄在60岁及以上、在研究区域居住至少一年的老年人口。招募了526名研究对象。2011年5月至2011年12月期间，使用预先制定的半结构化问卷进行数据收集。数据录入Microsoft Excel，并使用SPSS 17版进行统计分析。
207名老年男性中有162名（78.3%）功能状况优于319名老年女性中的240名（75.2%）。严重功能损害在两性中几乎相同（4%），而中度损害在老年女性中略多。年轻老年人、识字者、中产阶级和就业者的功能得分显著更高。3.4%的老年人存在焦虑和失眠（男性2.4%，女性4.1%），其次是躯体症状2.9%、社会功能障碍1.5%和严重抑郁1.1%。所有心理困扰在老年女性中更为常见。发现75岁以上人群的精神疾病患病率显著更高。
应提高老年人群对定期体检的认识，以确保慢性病的预防和早期发现。有必要设立配备精神科和医务社会工作专业人员的老年病房，并提供补贴医疗服务。
