Age-specific analysis of reported morbidity in Kerala, India.

This paper attempts to provide a wider understanding of the differentials in reported health status in Kerala, while comparing morbidity in the state with other regions in the Indian subcontinent. Reported morbidity and the duration of life lived with a disease is higher in Kerala. Economic inequalities were found only in late-working ages and the elderly, primarily due to higher prevalence of life style-associated chronic conditions in these two age groups. Significant caste-wise differences among adolescents and prime working ages indicated potential for health problems induced by income deprivation in socially disadvantaged subgroups. Self-reported morbidity was 65% higher than proxy-reported morbidity. Regional differences were significant across all age groups, with high morbidity in the most developed region in the state. Results also suggested the need to factor for self- and proxy-reported status in any analysis of morbidity using similar survey data.