Activity status, morbidity patterns and hospitalisation in India

This chapter provides a comprehensive picture of the relationships between activity status, morbidity patterns, and level of hospitalisation in India and across its six main geographical regions. Regional differences are striking, as the reported prevalence of ailments is higher in southern regions than other regions in India. The greater social and economic development, coupled with greater accessibility of healthcare services, could be responsible for the regional variations observed during the study. Alongside these regional patterns, there are wide differences in morbidity rates among different socioeconomic groups. The results also show a social pattern in health which is quite different from that usually observed in high income countries.