Ageing is a universal process affecting every individual, family, community and society. It is a normal, progressive and irreversible process which can be broadly characterized by time-altered changes in an individual's biological, psychological and health related capabilities and its implications for the consequent changes in the individual's role in the economy and the society. All these features of aging imply that the problems of the elderly need a special focus and approach. The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of various sociodemographic variables & perception of health status of this vulnerable age group of elderly people. A cross sectional study design was adopted and the study was conducted in the rural field practice area of the Deptt. of Community Medicine, SKIMS for a period of 1 year. The study was carried out in a total of 1020 individuals aged 60 years & above. Data was collected using a pre tested and pre structured proforma which included assessment of sociodemographic profile including SES and health status perception of the study population. In the present study, out of total 1020 study subjects, majority i.e 55.3% were Young aged (60-69 y);46.4% were males;85.5% were illiterate;81.4% of elderly were living in joint family;74% of study population were married; 83% were not working at all;65.9% belonged to SES class IV;89.8% of study subjects perceived that they were currently ill and among those 53.2% were hypertensives. Majority of elderly in present study were young aged (60-69y) , females, illiterate, married, living in joint family, not engaged in any work,  belonging to SES class IV, perceiving themselves to be currently ill ( hypertensives ).

Key words: Elderly, Sociodemographic profile, socioeconomic status (SES), Health status, Geriatrics.

1.      M.T. Yasamy, T. Dua, M. Harper, S. Saxena World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Mental Health of Older Adults,Adressing A Growing Concern.

2.      Jamuna D. Stress dimensions among caregivers of the elderly. Indian J Med Res 1997; 106:381-8.

3.      World Health Organization. World Health Day -April 2012; Theme: Ageing and health: Good health adds life to years. WHO. Available from: URL:http://-www.who.int/world-health-day/en/

4.      Global health and Ageing. Source; United Nation. World population prospects:The 2010 Revision. [Internet].[cited 2012 Sep 1]; available at http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp.cited

5.      United Nations world population projections to 2150. Population and Development Review. 1998; 24: 184-189.

6.      Census of India 2011, release ofsocial and cultural tables – age data highlights August 2013.

7.      Helena A. Figueira. Quality of life throught ageing. ActaMedica Lituanica. 2008 Vol.15. no.3.P.169-172

8.      Biswas Swami et al (2013) –Physical Morbidity and QOL among Geriatrics- An experience from a tertiary hospital.

9.      Sharankumar Holyachi, Santosh ,Socioeconomic status scales-An update; Annals of Community Health, vol 1,Issue 1,Dec 2013.

10.  Sowmiya KR, Nagarani ,A Study on Quality of Life of Elderly Population in Mettupalayam, A Rural Area of Tamilnadu; Nat. J. Res. Com. Med .,1(3):123-177, 2012

11.  Mudey. A, Ambekar. S, Assessment of Quality of Life among Rural and Urban Elderly Population of Wardha District, Maharashtra, India published in Ethno Med, 5(2): 89-93 (2011)

12.  Farzianpour F, Arab M, Hossein SM, Pirozi B, Hosseini SH. Evaluation of Quality of Life of the Elderly Population Covered by Health care Centers of Marivan and the Influencing Demographic and Background Factors in 2010. Iran Red Cres Med J.2012; 14(11):695-6. DOI: 10.5812/ircmj.1834

13.  Gaur DR, Goel MK, Goel M, Das A, Arora V. A Study of Morbidity Profile of Elderly in Urban Areas of North lndia. The lnternet Journal of Epidemiology 2008; 5(2)./76

14.  Trentini. M. Clarissa, Quality of Life (QoL) in a Brazilian Sample of Older Adults: The Role of Sociodemographic Variables and Depression Symptoms; Applied Research Quality Life: DOI 10.1007/s11482-010-9128-0;The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) 2010/40

15.  Chandrika S. Radhakumari P. Devi Madhavi B; Quality of Life of Elderly Residing in old Age Homes and Community in Visakhapatnam City IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS) Volume 14, Issue 10 Ver. IX (Oct. 2015), PP 27-31/65

16.  P. M. Durgawale, Study of Assesment of Quality of life in Elderly Residing in Rural Area, Karad of Maharashtra International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) Volume 3 Issue 10, October 2014/56

17. Nitin Joseph Assessment of morbidity pattern, quality of life and awareness of government facilities among elderly population in South India Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care July 2015 : Volume 4 : Issue 3/62