Health Status and Its Socio-economic Covariates of the Older Population in Poland - the Nationwide PolSenior2 Survey.

Health Status and Its Socio-economic Covariates of the Older Population in Poland - the Nationwide, Cross-sectional PolSenior2 Survey.

The PolSenior2 survey is aimed to characterise health status of old and very-old adults in Poland.

One of the goals is assessing the prevalence and control of age-related diseases and of the "geriatric giants" (immobility, instability, incontinence, sensory deficiency, cognition and mood disorders) which lead to frailty, disability and dependence. Monitoring of health status, health behaviors and identifying socio-economic factors favoring successful aging will be significant. As the polypragmasy and adverse drug reactions remain a significant issue in the geriatric care, pharmacotherapy and medical adherence will also be examined.

The additional purpose of the study is to evaluate the utilization and access to health care and social services in respect to needs for assistance and long-term care, as well as the level and different forms of these needs.

The project is planned as a cross-sectional survey of representative sample of 6000 people aged 60 years and over. The study protocol consists of questionnaires (medical, socio-economic, dietary), comprehensive geriatric assessment, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements and laboratory tests. The data are collected by well-trained nurses during three visits at respondents homes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• over 60 years of age,
• randomly selected from database of all Polish citizens,
• consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• under 60 years of age,
• no consent to participate in the study.