journal articles
PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF GERIATRIC SYNDROMES IN AN OUTPATIENT CLINIC AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF INDIA
P.C. Das, P. Chatterjee, P. Kumar, G. Kumar, A.B. Dey
J Aging Res Clin Practice 2013;2(1):117-120
Background: The precise prevalence of "Geriatric syndromes" among older patients in India is uncertain both in community or hospital setting. We examine the prevalence of geriatric syndromes in a dedicated outpatient clinic of a tertiary care hospital and to correlate their association with commonly encountered co-morbidities. Methods: OPD records of 343 older patients of the Geriatric Clinic of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, between August 2010 and January 2011 were reviewed. Data on prevalence of geriatric syndromes and the co morbidities were collected and the significance of their association was analyzed with appropriate statistical methods. Results: The mean age of presentation was 70.19(±5.6) years. The top five commonly associated comorbidities were hypertension (39.4%), diabetes (21.6%), cataract (12.5%), COPD (10.5%) and osteoarthritis (OA) (8.2%). Comprehensive geriatric assessment of these patients showed the prevalence of geriatric syndromes were depression 28(8.2%), cognitive impairment5 (1.5%), falls 26(7.6%), incontinence 15(4.4%) and functional dependency 37(10.9%). In our study CAD and osteoarthritis were strongly associated with cognitive impairment ( p=0.000) and falls (p=0.004) respectively. Old CVA was found to be significantly associated with depression (p=0.010) and falls ( p=0.007). Conclusions: Prevalence of Geriatric syndrome in outpatient settings was high. Under- recognition of these syndromes with routine medical assessments was common. Co- morbidities are very often independently associated with these geriatric syndromes. Therefore, routine screening by comprehensive geriatric assessment can prevent future disability.