Prevalence of disabilities and non-communicable diseases in an elderly population in the Telangana state, India: a population-based cross-sectional study

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of disabilities (vision, hearing, mobility, cognitive, self-care and communication) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the elderly population in two districts in Telangana, India.

Design: Population-based cross-sectional study using a cluster random sampling method to select the study clusters.

Setting: Elderly population in Khammam and Warangal districts were recruited. Detailed interviews were conducted by trained community health workers. Personal and demographic information such as age, gender, level of education and a self-report of NCDs was collected. The Washington Disability Questionnaire was administered to assess the presence of disabilities.

Participants: 1821 participants aged ≥60 years, 54.5% were women, and 73.3% had no education.

Primary outcome measure: Prevalence of disabilities and NCDs.

Results: Overall, the prevalence of at least disability was 20.3% (95% CI 16.3 to 24.9). The prevalence of self- reported disabilities were: seeing (5.9%; 95% CI 4.4 to 7.8), mobility (12.8%; 95% CI 9.7 to 16.8), hearing (3.6%; 95% CI 2.7 to 4.8), cognition (4.8%; 95% CI 3.5 to 6.7), self-care (3.3%; 95% CI 2.3 to 4.7) and communication (1.8%; 95% CI 1.2 to 2.6). Overall, the prevalence of at least one NCD was 34.2% (95% CI 30.9 to 37.7). Hypertension was the most common systemic condition (25.4%; 95% CI 22.4 to 28.7), followed by diabetes (9.0%; 95% CI 7.3 to 11.0), and body pains (muscle-skeletal) (9.9%; 95% CI 8.1 to 12.2).

Conclusion: Every fifth elderly person in the districts of Khammam and Warangal in Telangana had at least one self-reported disability. Besides, a third of the elderly had at least one NCD. There is a definite need to develop comprehensive public health strategies to address disabilities and NCDs in Telangana.