Determinants of self-reported chronic disease diagnoses among older persons in South Africa

Abstract

Background: Chronic diseases tend to affect the quality of life for older persons worldwide, especially in resource-constrained developing countries. Chronic diseases contribute to a large number of deaths among the population of South Africa.

Aim: This study examines the determinants of self-reported chronic disease diagnoses among older persons in South Africa.

Setting: The study setting was South Africa.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2019 South Africa General Household Survey were analysed (n [weighted] = 4 887 334). We fitted a binary logistic regression model to determine the relationship between socio-demographic factors and being diagnosed with self-reported chronic diseases.

Results: We found that at least 5 in 10 older persons were diagnosed with self-reported chronic disease. The bivariate findings showed that age, population group, sex, marital status, level of education, disability status, household composition and province were significantly associated with self-reported chronic disease diagnoses. At the multivariate level, we found that age, sex, population group, marital status, educational level, disability status, household wealth status, household composition and province were key predictors of self-reported chronic disease diagnoses.

Conclusion: We found that various factors were key determinants of being diagnosed with self-reported chronic diseases. This study offers important insights into the main correlations between older adults and self-reported chronic illness diagnoses. More study is required on the health of the elderly as it will help direct policy discussions and improve the development of health policies about the elderly.

Contribution: This study highlights the need for a better understanding of, and continued research into, the determinants health among older populations to guide future healthcare strategies.