Morbidity pattern of geriatric patients attending a general out-patient clinic in FCT, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The elderly population has been rising steadily  globally and in Nigeria. As people age, they become more  susceptible to disease and disability and thus place a large burden on the health care system. The knowledge of the disease pattern in the elderly helps prepare the health system to cater for them adequately. This study was carried out to study the prevalence and pattern of disease occurring in geriatric patients attending a General Outpatient clinic.
Methods: This is a retrospective review of morbidity pattern among geriatric patients attending the General outpatients  Department (GOPD), Maitama District Hospital FCT Abuja between January 2017 and April 2017 by using their medical records. Information obtained included their age, occupational status, place of domicile and diagnosis made at presentation. Data was analyzed using SPSS-17 software package. Chi-square tests were used to determine the degree of association between  variables. P values of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.
Results: Ten percent of the clinic attendees were aged 65 years and above. Females constituted 63.6% of the geriatric patients. Most (59%) of them were receiving treatment for non-communicable diseases. The top five NCDs included hypertension (65.18%), diabetes (11.8%), Osteoarthritis (6.4%), Benign  prostatic hypertrophy (14.7%) and Peptic ulcer disease (3.6%). For communicable diseases, malaria (62; 17.1%) was responsible for most cases of the geriatric morbidity seen. There was a significant relationship between Age (p=0.049) and Area of domicile (p=0.002) with occurrence of morbidity.
Conclusions: Non-communicable diseases are common in the geriatric population. It is pertinent that further health training and
facilities needed to cater for the health needs of this unique population group be provided to improve their quality of life.