LASI report to provide evidence base for national, state level programmes, policies for elderly: health minister

Longitudinal Ageing Study of India most comprehensive survey of biomarkers, with detailed data on health and biomarkers together with information on family and social network, income, assets, and consumption

Releasing the Indian report on Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare restated the commitments of the Government to healthy ageing, saying, “We should ensure that the elderly are provided with the best medical care.  India has one of the ambitious programme of the world, Ayushman Bharat Yojna which focuses on expansion of the healthcare facilities.”

Highlighting the importance of the study report, he said, “In 2011 census, the 60+ population accounted for 8.6 per cent of India’s population, accounting for 103 million elderly people. Growing at around 3 per cent annually, the number of elderly age population will rise to 319 million in 2050. 75 per cent of the elderly people suffer from one or the other chronic disease. 40 per cent of the elderly people have one or the other disability and 20 per cent have issues related to mental health. This report will provide base for national and state level programmes and policies for elderly population.”

Explaining the significance of the report to guide policymakers, he said, “It is India’s first and the world’s largest ever survey that provides a longitudinal database for designing policies and programmes for the older population in the broad domains of social, health, and economic well-being. The evidence from LASI will be used to further strengthen and broaden the scope of National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly and also help in establishing a range of preventive and health care programmes for older population and most vulnerable among them.”

Dr Vardhan noted, “The LASI has embraced state-of-the-art large-scale survey protocols and field implementation strategies including representative sample of India and its States, socioeconomic spectrum, an expansive topical focus, a longitudinal design, and the use of Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology for data collection, quality control, and Geographic Information System (GIS). A unique feature of LASI is the coverage of comprehensive biomarkers. No other survey in India collects detailed data on health and biomarkers together with information on family and social network, income, assets, and consumption.”

As per a health ministry statement, LASI is a full–scale national survey for scientific investigation of the health, economic, and social determinants and consequences of population ageing in India. The National Programme for Health Care of Elderly, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has undertaken the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India, through International Institute for Population Sciences, (IIPS), Mumbai in collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health, University of Southern California, US, Dte.GHS, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and National Institute on Ageing.

The LASI, Wave 1 covered a baseline sample of 72,250 individuals aged 45 and above and their spouses including 31,464 elderly persons aged 60 and above and 6,749 oldest-old persons aged 75 and above from all States and Union Territories (UTs) of India (excluding Sikkim).

The union health minister affirmed that the LASI data shall assist in addressing the broad aims of the Decade of Healthy Ageing and will lead to convergence within various national health programs and also promote inter-sectoral coordination with other line Departments/Ministries.

Dr KS James, Director IIPS, Vandana Gurnani, AS & MD-NHM, Prof (Dr) Rajiv Garg, Professor of Excellence, Vishal Chauhan Joint Secretary-NCD, Dr Gowri N Sengupta, ADG- NPHCE were also present at the event.

(Editing by Team EH)