ELDERLY IN ABBOTTABAD

Research Question: What are the health-related problems of the aged and whydo they feel lonely? Objective: To study the health-related problems and loneliness among theelderly in different micro-environment groups. Participants: Aged persons of age 65 years andabove. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Urban and rural area of Abbottabad. Period: 1st Jan,2012 to 31st Dec, 2012. Statistical Analysis: t-test and Z-test. Results: During the study, it wasfound that out of the total 361 aged persons of Abbott bad, 311 (86.1%) persons reported one ormore health-related complaints, with an average of two illnesses. The illness was higher amongthe females (59.5%) as compared to males (40.5%). The main health-related problems weredisorders of the circulatory system (51.2%), musculoskeletal system and connective tissue(45.7%). It was also found that loneliness was prevalent more in females (72.8%) as compared tomales (65.6%). Loneliness was more prevalent among persons who lived alone (92.2%) ascompared to those who lived with their spouse (58.9%) or when husband and wife lived with thefamily (61.4%). It was higher among the widows (85.2%) and widowers (75.8%) who lived with thefamily as compared to the aged who lived with the spouse (58.9%) and the aged husband andwife who lived with the family (61.4%). Conclusions: Special geriatric services should be startedin the hospitals as the majority of the aged have one or more health-related problems. The agedpersons should be involved in social activities to avoid loneliness among them.