Characteristics of the older population

Increasing life expectancy raises the question of whether longer life spans result in more years of life in good health, or whether it is associated with increased morbidity and more years spent in prolonged disability and dependency. The major causes of disability and health problems in old age are non-communicable diseases including the “four giants of geriatrics,” namely: memory loss, urinary incontinence, depression and falls or immobility, as well as some communicable diseases and injuries. As population age, health expenditures tend to grow rapidly since older persons usually require more health care in general and more specialized services to deal with their more complex pathologies. The number of deaths also increases sharply due to the exponential increase in mortality with age. Furthermore, older women generally experience higher rates of morbidity and disability than older men, in large part because of their longer life expectancy (WHO, 2007).

الموضوعات ذات الصلة: Population and Demography