Contribution of residence crowdedness, cohabitation with adult children and education of spouse in the incidence of disease episodes among elderly and non-elderly parents in a community of internally displaced peoples in Eastern Kasai (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Reports exist on the poor health conditions of internally displaced peoples (IDPs) in Africa, usually with a focus on children, but rarely on elderly. To depict the profile and public health concerns of internally displaced elderly (IDE), we conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey of 388 households in 2005 in a community of IDPs in Eastern Kasai province (Democratic Republic of the Congo). We used a subset of data to assess the difference, if any, between elderly and non-elderly parents on dimensions such as incidence of malaria, fever, diarrhea, and weight loss. We further explored the role of residence crowdedness, concentration of adult children and education of spouse on disease incidences. Results show elderly parents are similar to their non-elderly counterparts in terms of disease, but significantly different in terms of level of education of spouses and concentration of adult children in households. Residence crowdedness contributes positively (p = 0.012) and education of spouse contributes negatively (p = 0.049) to the incidence of diarrhea. Higher education of spouse is shown also as a mitigating factor for malaria (p = 0.009), and higher concentration of adult kids in the household as a mitigating factor of cases if self-reported weight loss (p = 0.089) among IDE parents. Incidences of various diseases in IDE parents seem to be differentially associated with specific factors. There is a need to determine and explore the mechanisms of influence of these various factors on the incidences of diseases among IDE parents.