With the development of medical technology and the adoption of healthier lifestyles, the average lifespan of human beings is increasing, which means that the number of elderly people as a percentage of the total population is also increasing.
- Year aging society it is a society in which more than 7% of the population is 65 years of age or older.
- Year aged society is one in which more than 14% of people are older than 65, and
- in a super aged society more than 20% or the population are elderly.
Our world is aging fast
It took approximately 110 years for the number of people over 65 in France to increase from 7% to 14% of the total population. The same process took about 80 years in Sweden, about 50 years in the UK, and about 20 years in Brazil and Korea.
So what does this mean for those of us who are already over 65?
As aging progresses, the body and mind weaken and disease accumulates. Chronic diseases, muscle weakness, and mental decline are more common in older people.
Unsurprisingly, the elderly account for a larger share of total medical spending in whatever society they live in.
In 2015, for example, the percentage of people aged 65 and over in South Korea was 13.2%, but their medical expenses represented a disproportionate 36.5% of total health spending in that country.
Therefore, you must lobby your government to ensure that health care systems are adapted to the needs of older people.
Studies in Europe and North America suggest that older people suffer from four to five diseases on average, far more than young people who are generally fairly disease-free.
Older people experience medical events, such as heart attacks, strokes and cancers, more often because their lungs, cardiovascular and digestive systems degenerate along with their immune systems.
Poor diets also contribute to this loss of good health among the elderly. Therefore, you must ensure that you eat nutritious foods to preserve your health as you age.
The classification of ages
Until recently, most studies of older people have categorized people over the age of 65 into a single group.
As people live longer, scientists found that diseases vary depending on how long people survive after age 65. As a result, researchers now divide old age into three distinct periods:
- 65 to 74 years… the youngest
- 75 to 84 years… middle age
- over 85 years… oldest
So what are the differences in terms of health and wellness between the three age groups?
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Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become brittle and weak. They tend to break if you have a fall or a hard hit. The most common fractures due to osteoporosis are those of the hip, back and wrist.
Osteoporosis is more likely to develop as you age. This can be seen in the increasing rate of hospital admissions for orthopedic surgery among the elderly.
Testing by researchers in Australia found age-related osteoporosis in 20% of 50-year-olds, 46% of 60-year-olds, 59% of 70-year-olds, and 69% of older patients 80 years old. If you are in the older age group, you most likely have osteoporosis.
Therefore, once you are over 65, you should be tested for osteoporosis regularly. There are many treatments you can take to keep your osteoporosis from getting worse.
falling
Falls among the elderly are quite common. One of the main causes of falls is syncope, that is, passing out or fainting due to a temporary decrease in the amount of blood reaching the brain.
You may experience syncope if you have an irregular heartbeat, reduced blood flow to the heart, abnormally low blood sugar levels, are using blood pressure medications, or other underlying conditions.
Falls can also be caused by vision problems, drunkenness, and sleeping pills, as well as paralysis caused by a stroke or neuromuscular disease (affecting the muscles and the nerves that control them).
Sudden falls can have serious consequences, especially if you hit your head or fall on your wrist.
Once you’re over 65, you need to adjust your living spaces so that slips and falls are less likely and have less serious consequences if they do occur.
In addition, you should carry an emergency call button, especially if you live alone, linked to a surveillance service that can alert your key fob or the emergency services.
Pulmonary function
With age, lung function decreases as the elasticity of the lungs decreases and the tendency of the chest to return to its relaxed position decreases. This causes the respiratory muscles to stiffen.
This explains why respiratory diseases are more likely in elderly patients. In fact, hospital admissions for respiratory problems make up the largest proportion of admissions for internal illnesses.
It is obvious that elderly patients should be provided with respiratory equipment and lung exercise training to increase lung capacity and improve breathing.
To strengthen your lung muscles, you should get a breathing device, like the one used by athletes and musicians, that resists breathing and builds all four lung muscles. Use it every day and after a few weeks you will find that your breathing will improve a lot.
You should also stop smoking.
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hospital admissions
There are absolute differences in hospital admissions between the three groups of elderly.
Together, the three groups account for the largest number of hospitalizations for internal illnesses, but about two-thirds of these are elderly patients.
This is because as you age, your immune system degenerates and you become more susceptible to infectious diseases, cancers, and autoimmune diseases.
Therefore, hospitals and hospital admission systems must adapt to the needs of older people, who are the most frequent users of these services.
use of ambulances
Elderly patients use emergency ambulances more often than younger patients.
Studies indicate that in most developed countries, more than a third of elderly patients, and approximately half of patients over 85 years of age, use ambulances to reach an emergency department (ED).
In contrast, emergency ambulances are only used for less than 30% of children who go to emergency services.
Therefore, ambulances must be equipped to meet the needs of elderly patients.
Length of stay (LOS) in emergency departments
A recent study found that elderly patients stay in the ED about 20% longer than younger patients with the same ailment.
Several other studies show that LOS in the ED increases with age. This may be because elderly patients in the emergency department are at high risk for associated illnesses. They may also need more diagnostic tests and emergency treatments, as well as time-consuming consultations with multiple departments.
Other studies report that the increase in LOS among elderly patients is mainly due to waiting times for hospital admission.
Governments must develop an effective policy to manage overcrowding and LOS.
Time in ICU
Another study reveals that there are no differences in the rate of admission to the ICU between the three groups of elderly, but there are differences in the length of stay in the ICU between the youngest and the oldest.
This could be because younger patients respond better to treatment than older patients.
Women
With increasing age, the proportion of female patients increases. This is probably due to the fact that women live longer than men.
The rate of visits to the emergency department for female patients increases with age.
Several studies have shown that women in Europe represent 51% of patients between 70 and 79 years of age and 61.68% of those over 80 years of age in EDs. In a study in South Korea, women represented 55.4% of all elderly patients, that is, 51.5% of the youngest, 54.9% of the middle-aged and 69 .1% of the oldest.
Therefore, both government health policies and hospital administrators should consider expanding the number of women’s awards and specialized medical services for women.
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Food to go
- Eat nutritious foods to preserve your health as you age.
- Get regular tests for osteoporosis, and if you have it, follow the treatments your doctor prescribes to keep it from getting worse.
- Adjust your living spaces so slips and falls are less likely and have less serious consequences if they do occur.
- Use an emergency “panic” button linked to a monitoring service that will alert your key fobs or emergency services in the event of a fall or accident.
- Exercise your lungs every day with a Powerlung or other similar device to preserve lung function.
- Form a pressure group with your older neighbors to encourage your political representatives, DT, MP, Senators, etc. to ensure that your government acts:
- adapt their health systems to the needs of older people who use these services much more than other age groups.
- equip ambulances to fit the needs of elderly patients.
- develop an effective policy to manage overcrowding and length of stay in emergency departments.
- consider, together with hospital directors, expanding the number of women’s wards and specialized medical services for older women.
Remember…nothing will happen unless you shout loud and vote during the elections