Nitish Reddy Ummadi Venkata, Lella Meenakshi, Sakhamuri Supritha, Paladugu Radha Kumari
Government General Hospital, Guntur Medical College, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Department of Pharmacology, Sri Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2025 May;14(5):1662-1668. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1555_24. Epub 2025 May 31.
The immune system of elderly people is weak which provokes them for increased susceptibility to infections leading to great concern for their health.
This study was conducted to explore the morbidity profile, to identify determinants and predictors of morbidity, to determine their health care seeking behavior, and to recommend required measures to be taken for the benefit of the geriatric individual's health.
After approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee and informed consent from participants, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted by using a prevalidated questionnaire among the geriatric population.
Out of 250 population, 58.4% were females and 41.6% males. The mean age of the population was 70.5 ± 4.94 years. The literacy rate was 71.2%. 58.8% were having good health care seeking behavior. In this study, majority of individuals (58%) had hypertension in association with musculoskeletal problems, followed by diabetes in association with hypertension (34%). Morbidities were statistically significant among females, alcoholics, nonvegetarians, people with low socioeconomic status and those with overweight.
The current study identified more morbidities among females, smokers, nonvegetarians, individuals with low socioeconomic status, those with overweight and those who do not exercise. These morbidities may be due to physiological age-related changes or due to any underlying pathology or even due to changes in life style habits. As this age group is mostly dependent on others, family physicians and primary care providers provide consistent and long-term care and also educate both patients and their families in managing age-related conditions, promoting healthier lifestyles and preparing for future health challenges. The government also must do its role in providing social security schemes and National Health Programs to the elderly individuals and enhance the health infrastructure at the ground level.
老年人的免疫系统较弱，这使得他们更容易受到感染，引发了对其健康的高度关注。
本研究旨在探讨发病情况，确定发病的决定因素和预测因素，确定他们的就医行为，并推荐为老年个体的健康而应采取的必要措施。
经机构伦理委员会批准并获得参与者的知情同意后，采用预先验证的问卷在老年人群中进行了一项基于社区的横断面研究。
在250名研究对象中，女性占58.4%，男性占41.6%。人群的平均年龄为70.5±4.94岁。识字率为71.2%。58.8%的人有良好的就医行为。在本研究中，大多数个体（58%）患有高血压并伴有肌肉骨骼问题，其次是糖尿病合并高血压（34%）。女性、酗酒者、非素食者、社会经济地位低的人和超重者的发病率具有统计学意义。
当前研究发现女性、吸烟者、非素食者、社会经济地位低的人、超重者和不运动的人发病率更高。这些发病情况可能是由于与年龄相关的生理变化、任何潜在的病理状况，甚至是生活方式习惯的改变。由于这个年龄组大多依赖他人，家庭医生和初级保健提供者应提供持续的长期护理，并教育患者及其家人管理与年龄相关的疾病、促进更健康的生活方式以及应对未来的健康挑战。政府也必须发挥作用，为老年人提供社会保障计划和国家健康项目，并加强基层的卫生基础设施。
