Morbidity and Multi-morbidity among the Elderly Population in Southernmost Thailand: Cox Proportional Hazards Regression Model of Survival Approach
Keywords:
Elderly, Morbidity, Survival, Southernmost ThailandAbstract
This study aims to investigate the distribution of morbidity, multi-morbidity and survival time to present morbidity including determining morbidity risk factors. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in urban, semi-urban and rural areas of Narathiwat Province in southernmost Thailand from
January to September 2017. The study participants were 517 elderly 60 years of age and older. A questionnaire and basic physical examinations were used to gather data. Morbidity data were assessed based on health testing results and doctor prescriptions by researcher nurses. Diseases were classified by medical diagnosis codes (ICD-10-CM Code). Nonparametric techniques such the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model were used to estimate the survival function and identify risk factors. Of the elderly sample, 68.7% were suffering from diseases; 51.8% were suffering from one disease, 0.8% had four different diseases, and 16.8% were categorised as multi-morbidity. The percentage of morbidity among female elderly was 58.7%. Hypertension was the most common disease of the circulatory system, while diabetes was the most common disease in the endocrine category. The survival curve for elderly morbidity declined to 50% at an age of approximately 77 years or 17 years after becoming elderly. Gender, religion, education level, health check-up, alcohol consumption and exercise were significant risk factors for elderly morbidity. The elderly in southernmost Thailand have a high prevalence of morbidity and suffer from multi-morbidity.
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