Increase in Elderly Population Report

Back in twentieth century, a tiny fragment of mere 5% population was comprised of people aged 65 and above. A little spike in this segment was observed during the period of 1950s-1960s; however, that spike was not significant and restricted to 8% of entire population (Chart 1.1). Many factors were responsible for the small proportion of senior population, the most prominent one though, low life expectancy, high fertility/birth rates and limitation of health services.

Data from the Census Bureau tell us that in 2015, there are around 47.8 million Americans age 65 and older, up from about 25.5 million just 35 years ago; demographers predict that in another 35 years, there will be nearly 88 million Americans in this age group. The rate of growth of the “oldest old” population—those age 85 and older—is even more dramatic: Their numbers currently stand at approximately 6.3 million, but by 2050, that number will have almost tripled, to 18.7 million Americans. This population explosion is unprecedented in history, and the resulting demographic shift is causing profound social and economic changes.

The Living Old program is about the United States of America population of people who are over 85 years old. This video was broken down into a six chapters. The first chapter was called, “Our Aging Society.” This chapter was about how the geriatric population is growing and changing our current society. In addition to the present changes, Doctor Audrey Chun commented on how people in the past died from pneumonia, flus, and other things such as infectious diseases. Whereas, in present time people are dying from chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, strokes, diabetes and other things that require management over the years. This chapter also touched on how the current health care system is not set up to treat chronic diseases.

Due to increase in life expectancy, the population of people over 65 has been increase dramatically, and it is estimated that in

The rapid growth in the number of seniors in America and around the world is creating a global demographic revolution without precedent. During this century, advances in hygiene and water supply and control of infectious diseases have reduced the risk of premature death much. As a result, the proportion of population over 60 years in the world is growing faster than in any previous era. In 1950 there were approximately 200 million people aged over 60 worldwide. By 2000 there will be over 550 million, and by 2025, the number of people over 60 is expected to reach 1,200 million.

The elderly population is growing with 35 million people who are age 65 years or older and half are between the ages of 65 to 74 and the other half are over the age of 75. The population age 85 years or older are the fastest growing population (Dubow, 2017). In 1991 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that 8 out of 10 people over the age of 60 had one or more chronic diseases or impairments which included arthritis, hypertension, hearing impairment, heart disease, cataracts, deformity or orthopedic impairment, chronic sinusitis,

Society and medical care professionals are inundated with diseases that may have caused death 100 years ago or even 50 years ago. Advancements in science and technology is prolonging life expectancy for people. The National Institute of Aging focuses on health illness for the aging population and how research and studies can provide better quality of life for the extended years of life. The organization is sphere headed by two offices and division that are designed to address specific areas of the aging population. The offices work the divisions to help guide their focus for the he crucial research.

A growing percentage of elderly people are starting to populate the world. With advances in modern medicine, the life expectancy has risen from

Disability among older U.S. adults, as measured by limitations in instrumental activities of daily living, has declined since the early 1980s. Disability also is measured by limitations in activities of daily living (ADL), a common factor leading to the need for long-term care. Recent studies using ADL measures have shown varied trends in disability. The world has experienced a gradual demographic transition from patterns of high fertility and high mortality rates to low fertility and delayed mortality. The transition begins with declining infant and childhood mortality, in part because of effective public health measures. Lower childhood mortality contributes initially to a longer life expectancy and a younger population. Declines in fertility rates generally follow, and improvements in adult health lead to an older population. As a result of demographic transitions, the shape of the global age distribution is changing. By 1990, the age distribution in developed countries represented similar proportions of younger and older persons. For developing countries, age distribution is projected to have similar proportions by 2030. By 2030, the number of U.S. adults aged 65 or older will more than double to about 71 million. The rapidly increasing number of older Americans has far-reaching implications for our nation's public health system and will place unprecedented demands on the

Statistics show that there has been an increase in a number of elderly people as par the census over time. NCEA (n.d.) projects that the elderly population is to continue increasing in 2050 up to a value above 20% of the total population. The increment has been realized straight from 1990’s and the graph has continued with the upward trend.

As a person grows into their seventies and eighties, they are not only rewarded with extra candles on their cake, but a plethora of medical issues: arthritis, cancer, respiratory disease, osteoporosis. Each and every day there are more people that fall into this age bracket due to the vast amount of babies that were born from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s (otherwise known as the baby boom).

Because of advancements in health, individuals are living longer. As a result, we find a growing population of people in late adulthood that is greater than decades before. These individual have varying degrees of health, but the majority of which are still capable of leading active lives. Berger (2011) describes there are 3 categories of old: young-old, old-old, and oldest-old. In the United States, young-old account for 70 percent of the late adult population and are “healthy, active, financially secure, and independent” (Berger, 2011, p.499). The groupings are not based upon an age, but rather on their health, vigor and financial security. Of the three groups, only the oldest-old are dependent on others for care. Even though there are varying

Today, 1 in 9 people in the world is ≥60 years of age, and this number is expected to increase to 1 in 5 by 2050, with a bigger percentage living in developing nations (Shetty, 2012). This demographic transition is associated with a variety of implications on disease burden, disability and dependency, healthcare systems, and socioeconomic policies, especially for countries that are already strained in these resources. This systematic review yields four main conclusions in regards to addressing some of the issues that healthcare providers and policy makers in LDCs will have to act upon in order to avoid a drastic future for their ageing populations.

From 1970 to the year 2000, the world's over-60 population is projected to increase by more than 90 percent" . This is an astonishing number, seeming how the total population was predicted to grow by less than 75 percent . "The most prominent feature of the looming shift in the composition of the working-age population is, of course, its increasing age" . It is hard to say what will happen when suddenly there will be an abundance of older people who are preparing to retire.

One of the major medical achievements of the twentieth century was the dramatic increase in the average global life expectancy. In 1950, the global median age was 23.6 years; by the year 2000, it rose to 26.4 – a gain of three years. The United Nations has projected that by the year 2050, the median age will jump to 37 years – a ten-year gain (Kochhar, 2014). People are living longer. At the same time, people are having fewer children. The consequence will be a situation without precedent: by the year 2020, there will be more of people over 65 years of age than children. World Health Organization (WHO) and many of the developed as well as developing nations are raising questions such as ¬ Will longer lives result in longer periods of good health, longer periods of productive careers and social engagements, or will old age mean prolonged illness, disability, and dependency on family and the State. How will the healthcare and social costs be borne by high-income and low-income nations? Managing the demographic forces will require creation of institutions and infrastructures that may seem costly; waiting could be costlier (Dobrianskt, Suzman and Beard 2011). The first part of the paper describes the projected changes in the population and the attitudes towards aging and coping with aging-related issues. An aging population, without appropriate policies, can become an economic and social burden in many of the European countries. The second section describes some