Living Arrangements and Chronic Morbidity Among Older Adults in India: Evidence from a Large-scale Survey

Abstract

This study examines the association between living arrangements and the prevalence of chronic morbidity (having ≥2 chronic conditions) among older adults in India. It has used the data of 9,852 persons aged 60 years and above from the survey of Building Knowledge Base on Population Aging in India (BKPAI) conducted in 2011. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate the influence of confounding factors on morbidity. Regression models demonstrated that older adults living with children/others are more likely to suffer from chronic morbidity than those who are living alone. Chronic morbidity was the highest among 80 years and above age group (77.9%) than the other two age groups of 60-69 (57.6%) and 70-79 (66.3%) years. There is a strong association between increased morbidity and living arrangements of older adults. The high prevalence of morbidity observed among older adults living with children/others suggests that programmes and policies should also be oriented towards the living arrangements of older adults while framing the public health support system in India.