The Aging Individual
Who are the old?
- How one is considered old is largely based on one’s own variables, such as attitudes, mental health, physical health, or degree of independence, so there is no real definitive age.
- How many old people are there in the US? Expected to number 77.0 million
- If one considers age to be a determining factor, then as of 2015, there were 15.2 percent of the population over the age of 65.
Epidemiology
- As of 2016, there were 70 percent of men and 46 percent of women age 65 years and older who were married.
- Note, there were over three times as many widows as there were widowers.
- The majority of individuals 65 years or older live alone, or with their spouses or with relatives
- Approximately 4.6 million older persons live below the poverty level.
- There were 9.6 million older Americans that were employed in 2016, and that number is increasing
- As we get older, the number of days where activities are restricted increase; illness and injuries are the main cause.
- Emotional and mental illness increase over the life cycle.
The aging process
- Biologic changes occur as we get older, including decrease in functioning of all of our major body systems. Some of these include –
- Skin
- Cardiovascular system
- Respiratory system
- Renal system
- GI system
- Musculoskeletal System
- GI system
- Immune System
- Sensory system
