Disease Patterns among the Elderly People coming in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, the proportion of elderly people is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Geriatric health problems are important issues even in developing countries like Nepal. The main objective of the study is to identify the disease patterns among the elderly people coming in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu, Nepal.

Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was done among 100 patients, aged 60 years and above, in General Health Checkup clinic of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu Written consent was maintained in the study. The obtained data through questionnaire method were managed by coding and entered and analyzed by using IBM SPSS V20.

Results: More than half (53%) of the patients were male. The mean (±SD) age was 67.35 (±16.927) years. Most of them were suffering from more than one disease. Hypertension was the commonest morbidity found in 47% of the patients. The other health problems were diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, hypothyroidism, cholelithiasis, cataract, chronic obstructive airway disease, benign hyperplasia of prostate and hysterectomy.

Conclusion: From the study, it can be concluded that non-communicable diseases are the major bulk of diseases in elderly population and have substantial impact on public health. Clinical settings like general health checkup clinics should focus on disease prevention and management including life style modifications, early detection and treatment, and self-management education Effective geriatric health care services need to stress ranging from family-based community care approach to convenient access to primary health care. Family caregivers and health care professionals need training and support in this field.