DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2014.v02i04.062

Pages: 1450-1454

In most of countries of the world, people who are 60 years of age or more are increasing. Although old age is not a disease in itself, the elderly are vulnerable to chronic diseases. This sequence of health related events has a significant effect on their daily routine, a measure of which is the activities of their daily living. This cross sectional descriptive study was carried out to make an assessment of activities of daily living amongst elderly in an urban community of North India. This study was conducted in an urban community in North India. The demographic data, including profile of the population was studied. Out of the total population of 11,387 individuals who were 60 years or older of age who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Out of the total of 2240 elderly population who met the inclusion criteria, 1074 were females while the remainder 1166 were men. There was no difference in activities of daily living found in the males and females. However, overall, the dependency increased with increasing age in both. In conclusion, ADL is an established and important measure of health of the elderly. It can, therefore be utilized to assess the services offered to the elderly and work out measures for improvement in the content of these services.