2 research outputs found
Prevalence and Patterns of Multimorbidity among Elderly People in Rural Bangladesh: A Cross-sectional Study
Data on multimorbidity among the elderly people in Bangladesh are
lacking. This paper reports the prevalence and distribution patterns of
multimorbidity among the elderly people in rural Bangladesh. This
crosssectional study was conducted among persons aged 6560 years
in Matlab, Bangladesh. Information on their demographics and literacy
was collected through interview in the home. Information about their
assets was obtained from a surveillance database. Physicians conducted
clinical examinations at a local health centre. Two physicians
diagnosed medical conditions, and two senior geriatricians then
evaluated the same separately. Multimorbidity was defined as suffering
from two or more of nine chronic medical conditions, such as arthritis,
stroke, obesity, signs of thyroid hypofunction, obstructive pulmonary
symptoms, symptoms of heart failure, impaired vision, hearing
impairment, and high blood pressure. The overall prevalence of
multimorbidity among the study population was 53.8%, and it was
significantly higher among women, illiterates, persons who were single,
and persons in the non-poorest quintile. In multivariable logistic
regression analyses, female sex and belonging to the non-poorest
quintile were independently associated with an increased odds ratio of
multimorbidity. The results suggest that the prevalence of
multimorbidity is high among the elderly people in rural Bangladesh.
Women and the non-poorest group of the elderly people are more likely
than men and the poorest people to be affected by multimorbidity. The
study sheds new light on the need of primary care for the elderly
people with multimorbidity in rural Bangladesh