On the measurement of subjective and objective health among a geriatric population in india: its variation and relation

Objective: This study tries to find out the relationship of various socio-demographic variables with self perception of health (SPH) and morbidity load among the geriatric population of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Methods: The study is based on a specially designed sample survey of 800 elderly people taken from two different setups of society that is from urban and rural. Results: It was found that variables significantly associated with SPH were also significantly associated with morbidity load in both the type of localities, results show that gender, age, educational status, marital status, wealth index and type of family are significant determinants of either SPH or morbidity load. Conclusion: The elderly respondents who perceived their health as good were mostly free from any kind of morbidity, while those who perceived their health as poor were mostly suffering from multiple morbidities.