Quality of life among geriatric population in a rural area of West Bengal: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Aging is associated with gradual accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage resulting in different types of morbidities in geriatric population, especially in rural areas in India where health infrastructure is insufficient. Aims: The aim of the study was to assess sociodemographic profile and quality of life (QOL) of geriatric population in Memari-I block of East Burdwan district, West Bengal. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was done among 436 rural geriatric population from October to December 2020 at Memari-I block in West Bengal, and multistage proportionate population sampling was done. Data were collected through house-to-house survey by pretested, predesigned, structured schedule and data analyzed with the help of IBM SPSS v16. Results: Among the study population, 263 (60.3%) were male and 272 (62.4%) were in the age group of 60–69. Nearly one-third of the population (37.8%) was underweight and half of them belonged to lower socioeconomic group (51.6%). Their QOL was significantly influenced by age, caste, family type, addiction, body mass index (BMI), dependency on others, socioeconomic status, and the presence of hypertension or diabetes. Conclusion: From the present study, it can be concluded that geriatric population from the Memari block was underweight and belonged to lower socioeconomic group. Significant association of QOL was found with age, caste, family type, addiction, BMI, dependency on others, socioeconomic status, and the presence of hypertension or diabetes.

Keywords

• memari block
• quality of life
• socioeconomic status
• underweight