Abstract :
Introduction: India, the second most populous country in the world is expected to have an increase in
geriatric population of 37% by 2051.Along with the rise in geriatric population there is also a rise in geriatric
related morbidity which requires special attention and care.
Methods: This was a community-based study, consisting of house to house survey of all people aged 65 years
and above in Ernakulam district. Residents of Ernakulam district who are ambulant and above the age of
65 years formed the study population of this study. Subjects aged 65 years and above were selected for the
study using multi stage stratified random cluster sampling method. A total of 1000 samples were collected.
Results: Among the 1000 study subjects, 342(34.2%) were diabetic 768(76.8%) were hypertensive and
248(24.8%) were suffering from dyslipidemia. Hypertension (76.8%) followed by visual impairment (59.4%)
and knee pain (56.5%) were the most common comorbidities in the present study population.
Conclusion: The incidence of all the study parameters among the elderly population was very high in
comparison with studies from other parts of India. A substantial impact on this burden, unique preventive
health care strategies specific to the elderly need to be clearly formulated and tested.
Keyword :
Geriatrics, Old age, Morbidity, Kerala