To estimate the prevalence and identify the determinants of assistive device usage in daily life among older adults in India.

Cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative survey data.

India

A total of 66 316 adults aged ≥45 years with complete information on assistive device use from Wave 1 of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, 2017–2018.

The primary outcome was self-reported use of any assistive device, including visual, hearing, mobility or other assistive devices. There were no predefined secondary outcome measures. Sociodemographic and health-related variables were analysed as covariates to assess factors associated with assistive device use.

The prevalence of assistive device use was 38.61% (95% CI: 37.73% to 39.50%). Use increased with age, from 34.48% among adults aged 45–59 years to 52.07% among those aged ≥75 years (adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) 1.30; 95% CI: 1.25 to 1.35). Prevalence was higher among men (40.94%) than women (37.51%) (aPR 1.06; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.09), among individuals with education above primary level (54.28%) compared with those with up to primary education (28.35%) (aPR 1.42; 95% CI: 1.36 to 1.48), and among urban residents (53.88%) vs rural residents (31.16%) (aPR 1.18; 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.22). A clear socioeconomic gradient was observed, with prevalence increasing from 27.65% in the poorest to 50.66% in the richest wealth quintile (aPR 1.32; 95% CI: 1.25 to 1.39). Assistive device use was higher among participants with chronic conditions (47.30%) than those without (28.16%) (aPR 1.15; 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.19) and was markedly higher among those with a prior eye or vision diagnosis (64.93%) compared with those without (14.61%) (aPR 3.94; 95% CI: 3.78 to 4.11). Among users, spectacles or contact lenses were most common (89.26%), followed by walking sticks or walkers (11.62%) and dentures (6.15%). State-level prevalence varied widely, ranging from 71.27% in Goa to 13.44% in Arunachal Pradesh.

Assistive device use was reported by less than half of Indian adults aged ≥45 years. The findings reveal clear socioeconomic and geographic inequities in access to assistive devices, with substantially lower use among older adults with less education, those in poorer wealth quintiles and rural residents. These disparities highlight the need for equity-focused interventions that improve accessibility to assistive devices, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged groups and individuals with chronic conditions.

Platelet and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) transfusions are routinely employed in the management of severe dengue. Previous research has indicated a potential link between ABO blood groups and susceptibility to dengue, with evidence suggesting that mosquito vector feeding preferences may be influenced by host blood type. These factors could potentially impact transfusion demands during outbreaks. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the relationship between ABO blood groups and transfusion requirements in patients with dengue.

Retrospective study.

The study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Kerala.

Clinical and laboratory data were reviewed for 199 patients confirmed with dengue who received blood component transfusions and compared with two control groups: 200 randomly selected patients with dengue who did not require transfusions and 200 patients without dengue who required transfusions, over a period spanning January 2015 to March 2023.

Among transfused dengue cases, blood groups O (41.71%), A (28.14%) and B (23.12%) were most prevalent; however, no statistically significant association was observed between ABO blood group and transfusion requirement. Furthermore, the total volumes of FFP and platelet transfusions did not differ significantly across ABO groups among patients with dengue. Notably, platelet transfusions were significantly more frequent in dengue cases (92.0%) compared with transfused patients without dengue (35.5%), whereas FFP transfusions were more common in non-dengue transfused cases (84.5%) than in patients with dengue (44.7%). Patients with dengue also received significantly higher mean volumes of both FFP and platelets.

Despite earlier reports linking ABO blood types to dengue susceptibility, this study found no significant association with transfusion requirements, warranting confirmation through larger multicentre studies.