Determinants of selected chronic diseases among the elderly population of South Africa

Abstract

Background: The increasing life expectancy and decreasing fertility rates have resulted in ageing populations globally. South Africa as well as other Sub-Saharan African countries are undergoing an epidemiological transition, whereby they are experiencing increase in death caused by non-communicable diseases. Most NCDs are related to behavioural or lifestyle factors, which are significantly shaped by socio-economic factors. The main objective of the study was to examine the determinants of selected chronic diseases among elderly persons in South Africa. Methods: The study used data from the 2019 General Household Survey (GHS). Data analysis was done in three stages univariate, bivariate, and multivariate. At the bivariate analysis level, a chi-square test was utilized to explore the association between selected chronic diseases for each of the selected background characteristics. At the multivariate level, the study used logistic regression to analyse the association between having the selected chronic diseases and the selected background characteristics. Results: Elderly females had the highest prevalence of selected chronic conditions of 55.7% compared to the male elderly persons who had a prevalence of 41.8%. Elderly persons whose highest level of educational attainment was higher education had a lower prevalence of being diagnosed with the selected chronic conditions of 41.1%. Moreover, elderly persons with a disability status of “a lot of difficulty” had the highest prevalence of selected chronic conditions of 57%. Moreover, the study found that elderly persons who resided in Western Cape were more like to be diagnosed with selected chronic conditions compared to elderly persons who resided in Limpopo due to poor disease control in the Western Cape. Conclusions: The study found that there has been an increase in the number of elderly persons. However, the increase was accompanied by an increase in the prevalence of selected chronic diseases. Furthermore, the study found that age, sex, marital status, educational level, disability status, household composition and province of residence were statistically associated with being diagnosed with the selected chronic conditions among elderly persons in South Africa. Additionally, females and elderly people of higher ages who obtained lower levels of education and were not married had a higher prevalence and were more likely to be diagnosed with the selected chronic conditions. Therefore, the study findings show that there is a need for successful ageing and to develop prevention strategies in the management of the selected chronic conditions.