EVALUATION OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DATA AND PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ILLNESS PATTERNS IN OLD INDIAN POPULATION

Abstract

Background: There is an upsurge in the number of geropsychiatric individuals in India. This has resulted in a rise in the
number of elderly patients visiting various clinics for therapy. There is less research on measuring the clinical psychiatric
profile of Indian elderly patients.
Aim: The current study sought to analyze sociodemographic data as well as physical and mental illness trends in senior Indian
respondents.
Methods: The current investigation was conducted retrospectively and comprised participants who were assessed using the
ICD-10 criteria. The study comprised 362 participants who provided all of the required medical data. The necessary data were
captured in a predetermined structured proforma manner, containing trustworthy and comprehensive information in the
records. The data collected were statistically examined.
Results: The study found that mood disorders were the most common psychiatric disorders in Indian geriatric subjects,
accounting for 48% of cases, followed by somatoform, stress-related, and neurotic disorders, which accounted for 15% of
cases, and organic disorders, which included mental and symptomatic disorders, which accounted for 14% of cases. Medical
comorbidity was also discovered to be a significant finding in research individuals, since physical diagnoses were present in
the majority of them.
Conclusions: The current study found a significant frequency of somatoform, stress-related, neurotic, and mood disorders
among old and geriatric Indian patients. Appropriate methods are required to assess these psychiatric diseases and mental
comorbidity in old Indian people receiving specialist geropsychiatric care. Planning for mental health care in geriatric topics
is critical in the current Indian setting.