ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Nutrition is one of the most important factors that affect a child's health. It plays a vital role in the prevention and control of disease morbidity and mortality. It is a major public health problem in a developing country like India. AIMS: To assess undernutrition in under-five children and various sociodemographic factors affecting it. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among under-five children of rural and urban Rishikesh. A total sample size of 400 under-five children was taken. Multistage sampling was done to select the areas and systematic random sampling was done for selection of households. SUBJECT AND METHODS: A predesigned, pretested, and semistructured questionnaire was used to collect information on the sociodemographic characteristics and status of undernutrition in study participants. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data was entered into excel sheets and analyzed using SPSS version 23 utilizing appropriate statistical methods. RESULTS: The prevalence of underweight was 37.3%, stunting 43.3% and wasting 24.5%. Underweight (40.5% v/s 35.0%), stunting (46.5% v/s 40.0%), and wasting (27.0% v/s 22.0%) was more prevalent in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Sociodemographic factors such as religion, caste, parental education, father's occupation, and family size emerged as significant predictors of under nutrition. CONCLUSION: Undernutrition in under-five children was quite high. Since childhood malnutrition is multifactorial, there is no single cause big enough to blame but a multifaceted approach is required to combat malnutrition.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Population of elderly in India is growing day by day. Elderly population of India is 8.6% and in Uttarakhand it is 8.9%. Health needs of geriatric people differs from others. This study was an attempt to study the morbidity profile of geriatric people that may serve as a baseline data and also help in planning the health services. AIMS: To study Morbidity profile of geriatric population in Uttarakhand. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among geriatric people in rural and urban areas of Uttarakhand. Study participants aged 60 years and above were included in the study and a sample size of 400 was calculated. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Predesigned, pretested and semistructured questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics and morbidity status of study participants. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data was entered into excel sheets and analyzed using SPSS version 23 utilizing appropriate statistical methods. RESULTS: Among 400 elderly people most common organ system affected was musculoskeletal (77.20%). Other commonly affected health systems were psychological (75.90%), digestive (73.60%), eye (56.67%), endocrine (35.90%), cardiovascular (33.08%), general and unspecified health problems (32.05%), ear (24.62%) and respiratory system (19.74%). Very few elderlies had neurological (6.67%) and urological (1.28%) problems. CONCLUSIONS: As shown in the present study very high percentage of morbidities were found in the study population. As a result, there is a need to further strengthen existing geriatric health care services at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
