Background: Chronic diseases tend to affect the quality of life for older persons worldwide,
especially in resource-constrained developing countries. Chronic diseases contribute to a large
number of deaths among the population of South Africa.
Aim: This study examines the determinants of self-reported chronic disease diagnoses among
older persons in South Africa.
Setting: The study setting was South Africa.
Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2019 South Africa General Household Survey were
analysed (n [weighted] = 4 887 334). We fitted a binary logistic regression model to determine
the relationship between socio-demographic factors and being diagnosed with self-reported
chronic diseases.
Results: We found that at least 5 in 10 older persons were diagnosed with self-reported chronic
disease. The bivariate findings showed that age, population group, sex, marital status, level of
education, disability status, household composition and province were significantly associated
with self-reported chronic disease diagnoses. At the multivariate level, we found that age, sex,
population group, marital status, educational level, disability status, household wealth status,
household composition and province were key predictors of self-reported chronic disease
diagnoses.
Conclusion: We found that various factors were key determinants of being diagnosed with
self-reported chronic diseases. This study offers important insights into the main correlations
between older adults and self-reported chronic illness diagnoses. More study is required on
the health of the elderly as it will help direct policy discussions and improve the development
of health policies about the elderly.
Contribution: This study highlights the need for a better understanding of, and continued
research into, the determinants health among older populations to guide future healthcare
strategies.