Prevalence and Correlates of Mental Disability among Elderly Population Residing at Rural Block of Cuttack, India

Introduction: India is in demographic transition phase with increasing proportion of geriatric population. Along with chronic ailments during old age, mental health is also a growing matter of concern and often neglected. Aim: The present study was conducted to estimate the burden of mental disability among elderly people. Materials and Methods: This was a community-based, crosssectional study was carried out among the elderly people (aged 60 years and above) residing at villages of Barang block of Cuttack district, Odisha, which was a rural field practice area of Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Odisha from October 2013 to March 2014. The information regarding sociodemographic characteristics, family type, financial support, any existing disease was collected. Indian Disability Evaluation Assessment Scale (IDEAS) was used as a tool to assess mental disability among elderly participants. The data was entered into Microsoft Excel sheet and analysed using SPSS software 21.0. Chi-square test was used, and the statistical significance level was fixed at p<0.05. Bivariate analysis and odds ratio were calculated, and the statistical significance level was fixed at p<0.05. Results: Among 793 participants, majority were female (51.3%) and in the age group of 60-69 years (53.0%). The mean of total IDEAS score was 6.14 +/- 2.19 and global IDEAS score (total IDEAS score + duration of illness) was 9.38 +/- 2.44, which represents moderate to profound disability. The prevalence of mental disability was 16.1%. Mental disability was found 3.0 times more among 70 years and above aged people (p<0.001), 2.2 times more among those who had diabetes (p=0.007) and 8.5 times more among those who had respiratory diseases (p<0.001) which was statistically significant. Mental disability was found to be 1.4 times more in those whose spouses were dead or separated (p=0.0512), but was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study showed the prevalence of mental disability was more among females and it was significantly associated with increasing age and presence of chronic diseases. There is a need to raise awareness in public about unmet needs of geriatric mental health and an integrated approach should be taken regarding preventive and curative mental health care of geriatric people.