A study on the health status of the institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly in mumbai city

There are physiological, psycho - social changes which are the characteristics of aging in elderly and also dietary factors that influence their nutritional status. A cross sectional study using purposive sampling method with 190 elderly (90 institutionalized and 100 non - institutionalized) above 60 years of age including both men and women was conducted in Mumbai, India. Tool used was interview schedule, anthropometric measurements and a three day 24 hrs diet recall. Non-institutional males and females had significantly higher weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference, and had significantly lower energy, protein and fat intakes. Females had significantly higher fat intake as compared to males. Significantly higher percentage of non-institutional had impaired glucose tolerance (χ2=46.558), osteoarthritis, back pain, used denture, complained of soft gums, higher prevalence of blood pressure as compared to institutional elderly (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in prevalence of diabetes (χ2=0.627). On the other hand, significantly higher number of institutional elderly had renal disease (χ2=16.367), presence of oedema (χ2=17.675), osteoporosis, used sticks, suffered from gastro-intestinal disorders (constipation) and parkinson’s disease as compared to non-institutional elderly (p<0.05). The prevalence of illness was significantly higher in Institutional elderly except for diabetes, blood pressure and osteoarthritis.