Health Problems and Health-seeking Behavior of Aged Population from Rural Area of South India: A Cross-sectional Study | Chapter 8 | Medical Research and Its Applications Vol. 9

 

Introduction: Health status plays a very important role in the quality of life of an individual. With an increase in age, many health problems arise. Ageing of a population is a matter of great concern for the health sector. The elderly are, on the whole, less healthy than the non-elderly. Many health problems are known to increase with age and this demographic trend may lead to an increase in the absolute number of health conditions in the population. In addition, because there is a growing body of evidence that older people are at risk for multiple, co-morbid conditions, health care seeking will probably also increase.

 

Aim: The present study aimed to assess the pattern of health problems and health-seeking behaviour of the elderly in rural areas of South India.

 

Materials and Methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the rural elderly population aged 60 years and above residing in the rural area of Prathipadu which is the field practice area of Dept of Community Medicine. The study was done from Oct 2011 to Dec 2011.

 

Results: Most of the study subjects (65.5%) were in the age group of 60-69 years. 28.5% of the study subjects were illiterate. The majority (79.5%) were not working. Around 68.5% study subjects were having one or other health problems. 39.42% were suffering from locomotive disorders, followed by respiratory disorders (30.66%), hypertension (27.7%) and visual impairment (25.55%). Around 75.91% of study subjects were taking some kind of treatment. Around 41.35% of study subjects were complying with their treatment regime. The most common reason for non-compliance was the high cost of treatment (39.34%). Regarding the morbidity pattern of the older persons in the current study, locomotive disorders were found to be most common, followed by respiratory disorders and hypertension. Musculo-skeletal changes are one of the most important functional effects of ageing. There is a loss of bone mass with ageing.

 

Conclusion: The findings of the study demonstrated that the majority of elderly people had one or more health issues, with motor abnormalities being the most prevalent. Additionally, while the majority of the participants were receiving treatment, there was a low level of adherence. The need for geriatric counseling facilities to address the medical, physiological, psychological, and social needs of the elderly is increasing.

 

Author(s) Details

Pravin N. Yerpude

Department of Community Medicine, Chhindwara Institute of Medical Sciences, Chhindwara (M.P.)-480001, India.

Keerti S. Jogdand

Department of Community Medicine, Chhindwara Institute of Medical Sciences, Chhindwara (M.P.)-480001, India.

Mohini S. Jogdand

Department of Community Medicine, SRTR Medical College & Hospital, Ambajogai, Maharashtra, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mria/v9/989

Improved Biomass Stove on Health of Rural Families | Chapter 4 | Research Advances in Environment, Geography and Earth Science Vol. 2

Inefficient combustion of solid fuels emits high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and other harmful emissions. A strong association has been shown between household air pollution (HAP) and acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in children, and chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) and lung cancer in adults. The magnitude of these adverse health impacts, household air pollution from burning solid fuels in primitive cook stoves is the primary environmental cause of death. The 2014 Global Burden of Disease Report (GBDR) found household air pollution to be the third most deadly global risk factor, accounting for about 4.3 million deaths annually (mainly due to cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses), and the second greatest risk factor in India (Improved biomass cook stove, 2014). Exploratory and experimentalStudy was conducted during the year 2016-17 Dharwad and Vijayapur districts of Karnataka state. Keeping this in view a study was conducted in two villages namely Timmapur Village of Dharwad district and Bhaganager village of Vijayapur district. 60 households were randomly selected from each village. Interview schedule was used. More than 90 percent of the respondents in both the villages were illiterate and majority of the respondents had breathing problems. A highly significant difference was found between improved biomass stove and traditional stove and also among women of both villages. This indicates that the benefits were more effective while using improved biomass stove as compared to traditional stove.

Author(s) Details:

Renuka S. Salunke,
Department of Family Resource Management, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580005, India.

Swati Vannur,
Department of Family Resource Management, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580005, India.

S. S. Dolli,
Department of Family Resource Management, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580005, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/RAEGES-V2/article/view/14209

Evidence Mercury May Be an Etiological Factor in Multiple Sclerosis | Chapter 2 | New Innovations in Chemistry and Biochemistry Vol.8

 

 Mercury is one of the most hazardous metals, with the potential to cause a wide range of health problems. The researchers wanted to see if mercury was the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS) by comparing 88 MS-related features to mercury levels. All but five factors were found to be associated to mercury, with the remaining five factors having insufficient evidence to be linked to mercury in some way.

MS is characterised by nerve demyelination, and mercury is known to cause nerve demyelination. The basal ganglia, Bell's palsy, brain atrophy and shrinkage, brain scarring, dysmetria, myelin basic protein, myelin oliodendrocytes, glycoprotein, oligoclonal bands, oligodendrocytes, ciliary neutrophil factor, white matter, axon and myelin damage, electroencephlography, and brainstem auditory evoked potentials are all involved in Autoimmunity, cytokine alterations, gamma globulins, Epstein Barr virus, T cells, herpes virus, and urinary infections are all examples of immune system abnormalities.

Hormones and biochemistry such myelin basic protein, myelin oliodendrocytes, glycoprotein, estriol, free radicals, glial cells, glucosteroids, female hormones, and inrerferon undergo similar changes.

Mercury exposure was revealed to be responsible for all 32 physical symptoms of MS, as well as all 7 mental health symptoms and all 11 ocular symptoms, according to the study.

The researchers hypothesised that people living in southern latitudes are more exposed to the sun, and that the higher levels of vitamin D, an anti-inflammatory, may assist to mitigate mercury-induced inflammation.

According to studies, there is a link between MS and dental caries and dental amalgams. Dental amalgams are the most prevalent source of mercury, according to the WHO. According to the study, mercury is most likely an etiological factor in multiple sclerosis.

Author(s) Details:

Robert Siblerud,
Rocky Mountain Research Institute, USA.


Joachim Mutter,
Environmental Medicine, 784467 Konstance Germany.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/NICB-V8/article/view/6281

An Evaluation of Elderly Health Problems with the Goal of Developing an Interventional Module for Elderly Care | Chapter 13 | New Frontiers in Medicine and Medical Research Vol. 17

 Aging is a natural occurrence that affects everyone. It can't be reversed or stopped, but it can be slowed down. Aging is defined as the gradual deterioration of structure and functions over time, which leads to disease or damage and increases the risk of death. The definition of old age is difficult to establish precisely because it has different meanings in different communities. The study's purpose was to look into the health problems of the elderly and see how selected socio-demographic variables affected them in order to develop an interventional programme for their care. Methodology: A survey was employed as part of a non-experimental research approach. The study enlisted the participation of 157 old persons from the Hegganahalli urban community. In this study, the non-probability convenient sampling approach was used. A structured interview schedule and descriptive design were used to collect data and detect health concerns among the elderly. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics methods. To examine the effects of various demographic variables, the Chi square test was performed. Based on the issues identified, an interventional module for senior care was created.

Author(S) Details

Gajanand R. Wale
K T Patil College of BSc Nursing, Osmanabad (M.S), India.

View Book:- https://stm.bookpi.org/NFMMR-V17/article/view/4215