Pattern of morbidity among elders attending general practice: health needs assessment of geriatric patients in Oman

The main purpose of this study was to identify specific problems and pattern of morbidities that is common in the elderly. A cross sectional study surveying the health status and needs of targeted population was conducted in selected primary health care (PHC) outpatient settings. All consenting individuals aged 60 years and above who visited the selected PHC clinics were interviewed. Information was collected using face-to-face interviews based on a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. A total of 185 people were evaluated in this study. About 75% of participants were age 60-70 years. Overall, male predominance was noted with 137 (74.1%) males and among all participant’s 80% were married. The mean BMI was 26.47±4.98 kg/m2 and mean waist circumference was 90.16±12.97 cm. The prevalence of smoking, DM, HTN, dyslipidaemia and history of IHD among participants were 7.6%, 37.8%, 49.7%, 27.6% and 8.1%, respectively and males showed a significantly higher prevalence than females in smoking and HTN (p<0.05). Hypertension was common comorbid ailment with 29.2% of stage I and 19.5% of stage II hypertension among 60-70 age groups. The majority of the participants were taking shower; using toilet, feeding and get dressed independently, 88.6%, 87.6%, 87% and 87.6% respectively. These findings provide important information on high prevalence of overweight, hypertension, diabetes, smoking and dyslipidaemia among elders. The other common morbidities were impaired vision, walking difficulty, and hearing problems. The activity of daily living (bathing dressing toileting feeding) is preserved in most of older people.