Correlates of obesity and functional disability among senior citizens at Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto experience

Abstract

Background: The study assessed the relationship between obesity and functional disability in elderly.
Materials and method: A descriptive sectional study was conducted at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital. Systemic sampling technique was employed and structured interviewer administered questionnaire was administered among 319 participants. Data was collected on socio-demographics, functionality, assessment and anthropometrics (weight and height and BMI) of the respondents were also taken. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21 statistical software.
Results: The mean age of the respondents was 65.9 ± 6.7. There was a statistically significant relationship between obesity and ADL disability (0.001).The prevalence of obesity was 17.6% with majority having obesity class 1(11.3).
Conclusions: Obese elderly have twice the risk of having disability in self-care. Therefore, it needs to be tackled for prevention and management of disability in elderly.