Old age

Summary

Old age is the range of ages for persons nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, seniors, senior citizens, or older adults.[1] Old age is not a definite biological stage: the chronological age denoted as "old age" varies culturally and historically.[2] Some disciplines and domains focus on the aging and the aged, such as the organic processes of aging (senescence),[3] medical studies of the aging process (gerontology),[4] diseases that afflict older adults (geriatrics),[5] technology to support the aging society (gerontechnology), and leisure and sport activities adapted to older people (such as senior sport).

Elderly people perform 1001 Stories, part of Leeds 2023

Old people often have limited regenerative abilities and are more susceptible to illness and injury than younger adults. They face social problems related to retirement, loneliness, and ageism.[6][7]

In 2011, the United Nations proposed a human-rights convention to protect old people.[8]

Definitions edit

 
Old Woman Dozing by Nicolaes Maes (1656). Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels

Definitions of old age include official definitions, sub-group definitions, and four dimensions as follows.

Official definitions edit

Most developed Western countries set the retirement age around the age of 65; this is also generally considered to mark the transition from middle to old age. Reaching this age is commonly a requirement to become eligible for senior social programs.[9]

Old age cannot be universally defined because it is context-sensitive. The United Nations, for example, considers old age to be 60 years or older.[10] In contrast, a 2001 joint report by the U.S. National Institute on Aging and the World Health Organization [WHO] Regional Office for Africa set the beginning of old age in Sub-Saharan Africa at 50.[11] This lower threshold stems primarily from a different way of thinking about old age in developing nations. Unlike in the developed world, where chronological age determines retirement, societies in developing countries determine old age according to a person's ability to make active contributions to society.[12] This number is also significantly affected by lower life expectancy throughout the developing world. Dating back to the Middle Ages and prior, what certain scholars thought of as old age varied depending on the context, but the state of being elderly was often thought as being 60 years of age or older in many respects.[13]

Sub-group definitions edit

 
A smiling 93-year-old man from Pichilemu, Chile

Gerontologists have recognized that people experience very different conditions as they approach old age. In developed countries, many people in their later 60s and 70s (frequently called "early old age") are still fit, active, and able to care for themselves.[14]: 607  However, after 80, they generally become increasingly frail, a condition marked by serious mental and physical debilitation.[15]

Therefore, rather than lumping together all people who have been defined as old, some gerontologists have recognized the diversity of old age by defining sub-groups. One study distinguishes the young-old (60 to 69), the middle-old (70 to 79), and the very old (80+).[16] Another study's sub-grouping is young-old (65 to 74), middle-old (75 to 84), and oldest-old (85+).[17] A third sub-grouping is young-old (65 to 74), old (74 to 84), and old-old (85+).[18] Describing sub-groups in the 65+ population enables a more accurate portrayal of significant life changes.[19]: 4 

Two British scholars, Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard, have added a "fourth age" sub-group. In British English, the "third age" is "the period in life of active retirement, following middle age".[20] Higgs and Gilleard describe the fourth age as "an arena of inactive, unhealthy, unproductive, and ultimately unsuccessful ageing".[21]

Dimensions edit

Key Concepts in Social Gerontology lists four dimensions: chronological, biological, psychological, and social.[22]: 12–3  Wattis and Curran add a fifth dimension: developmental.[23] Chronological age may differ considerably from a person's functional age. The distinguishing marks of old age normally occur in all five senses at different times and at different rates for different people.[24] In addition to chronological age, people can be considered old because of the other dimensions of old age. For example, people may be considered old when they become grandparents or when they begin to do less or different work in retirement.[25]

Senior citizen edit

Senior citizen is a common euphemism for an old person used in American English, and sometimes in British English. It implies that the person being referred to is retired.[26][27][28][29] This in turn usually implies that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country. Synonyms include old age pensioner or pensioner in British English, and retiree and senior in American English. Some dictionaries describe widespread use of "senior citizen" for people over the age of 65.[30]

When defined in a legal context, senior citizen is often used for legal or policy-related reasons in determining who is eligible for certain benefits available to the age group.

It is used in general usage instead of traditional terms such as "old person", "old-age pensioner", or "elderly" as a courtesy and to signify continuing relevance of and respect for this population group as "citizens" of society, of senior "rank".[31]

The term was apparently coined in 1938 during a political campaign.[32] Famed caricaturist Al Hirschfeld claimed on several occasions that his father Isaac Hirschfeld invented the term "senior citizen".[33][34][35] It has come into widespread use in recent decades in legislation, commerce, and common speech. Especially in less formal contexts, it is often abbreviated as "senior(s)", which is also used as an adjective.

Age qualifications edit

The age of 65 has long been considered the benchmark for senior citizenship in numerous countries. This convention originated from Chancellor Otto von Bismarck's introduction of the pension system in Germany during the late 19th century. Bismarck's legislation set the retirement age at 70, with 65 as the age at which individuals could start receiving a pension. This age standard gradually gained acceptance in other nations and has since become deeply entrenched in public consciousness.[36]

The age which qualifies for senior citizen status varies widely. In governmental contexts, it is usually associated with an age at which pensions or medical benefits for the elderly become available. In commercial contexts, where it may serve as a marketing device to attract customers, the age is often significantly lower.[37]

In commerce, some businesses offer customers of a certain age a "senior discount". The age at which these discounts are available varies from 55, 60, 62 or 65 upwards, and other criteria may also apply. Sometimes a special "senior discount card" or other proof of age needs to be produced to show entitlement.

In the United States, the standard retirement age is currently 66 (gradually increasing to 67).[38] The AARP allows couples in which one spouse has reached the age of 50 to join, regardless of the age of the other spouse.

In Canada, the Old Age Security (OAS) pension is available at 65 (the Conservative government of Stephen Harper had planned to gradually increase the age of eligibility to 67, starting in the years 2023–2029, although the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau is considering leaving it at 65),[39] and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) as early as age 60.

Signs edit

The distinguishing characteristics of old age are both physical and mental.[40] The marks of old age are so unlike the marks of middle age that legal scholar Richard Posner suggests that, as an individual transitions into old age, that person can be thought of as different people "time-sharing" the same identity.[41]: 86–7 

These marks do not occur at the same chronological age for everyone. Also, they occur at different rates and order for different people.[24] Marks of old age can easily vary between people of the same chronological age.[42]

A basic mark of old age that affects both body and mind is "slowness of behavior".[43] The term describes a correlation between advancing age and slowness of reaction and physical and mental task performance.[44] However, studies from Buffalo University and Northwestern University have shown that the elderly are a happier age group than their younger counterparts.[45]

Physical edit

Physical marks of old age include the following:

  • Bone and joint problems: Old bones are marked by "thinning and shrinkage". This might result in a loss of height (about two inches (5 cm) by age 80), a stooping posture in many people, and a greater susceptibility to bone and joint diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.[46][47]
  • Chronic diseases: Some older people have at least one chronic condition and many have multiple conditions. In 2007–2009, the most frequently occurring conditions among older people in the United States were uncontrolled hypertension (34%), arthritis (50%), and heart disease (32%).[48]
  • Chronic mucus hypersecretion (CMH), defined as "coughing and bringing up sputum", is a common respiratory symptom in elderly people.[49]
  • Dental problems: Older people may have less saliva and reduced ability to maintain oral hygiene, consequently increasing the chance of tooth decay and infection.[50]
  • Digestive system issues: About 40% of the time, old age is marked by digestive disorders such as difficulty in swallowing, inability to eat enough and to absorb nutrition, constipation and bleeding.
  • Essential tremor (ET): An uncontrollable shaking in a part of the upper body. It is more common in the elderly and symptoms worsen with age.[51]
  • Eyesight deterioration: Presbyopia can occur by age 50 and it hinders reading, especially of small print in low lighting. The speed with which an individual reads and the ability to locate objects may also be impaired.[52] By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.[53][54][55]
  • Falls: Old age increases the risk of injury from falls.[56] Every year, about a third of those 65 years old and more than half of those 80 years old fall.[57] Falls are the leading cause of injury and death for old people.[58]
  • Gait change: Some aspects of gait normally change with old age. Speed slows after age 70. Time with both feet on the ground ("double stance") increases. Old people sometimes move as if they were walking carefully on ice.[59]
  • Hair usually turns gray and may become thinner.[60][61] About age 50, about 50% of Europeans have 50% grey hair.[62] Many men are affected by balding.
  • Women enter menopause.
  • Hearing loss: By age 75, 48% of men and 37% of women have lost at least some significant hearing. Of the 26.7 million people [where?] over age 50 with a hearing impairment, one seventh use hearing aids.[52] In the 70–79 age range, partial hearing loss affecting communication rises to 65%, mostly in low-income men.[63]
  • Hearts can become less efficient in old age, lessening stamina. Atherosclerosis can constrict blood flow.[60][64]
  • Immune-function loss (immunosenescence).[65]
  • Lungs may expand less efficiently, providing less oxygen.[46][66]
  • Mobility impairment or loss: "Impairment in mobility affects 14% of those between 65 and 74, [and] half of those over 85."[67] Loss of mobility is common in old people and has serious "social, psychological, and physical consequences".[68]
  • Pain: 25% of seniors have chronic pain, increasing with age, up to 80% of those in nursing homes.[69] Most pains are rheumatological or malignant.[70]
  • Decreases in sexual drive in both men and women.[71] Increasing research on sexual behavior and desires in later life is challenging the "asexual" image of older adults. People aged 75–102 do experience sensuality and sexual pleasure.[72] Sexual attitudes and identity are established in early adulthood and change little.[73] Sexuality remains important throughout life, and the sexual expression of "typical, healthy older persons is a relatively neglected topic of research".[74] Other known sexual behaviors in older age groups include sexual thoughts, fantasies, and dreams;[75] masturbation; oral sex; and vaginal and anal intercourse.[74]
  • Skin loses elasticity and gets drier and more lined and wrinkled.[60]
  • Wounds take longer to heal and are likelier to leave permanent scars.
  • Trouble sleeping and daytime sleepiness affect more than half of seniors.[76] In a study of 9,000 people with a mean age of 74, only 12% reported no sleep complaints.[77] By age 65, deep sleep drops to about 5% of sleep time.[78]
  • Taste buds diminish by up to half by the age of 80. Food becomes less appealing and nutrition can suffer.[46][47]
  • Over the age of 85, thirst perception decreases, so that 41% of the elderly don't drink enough.[79]
  • Urinary incontinence is often found in old age.[80]
  • Vocal cords weaken and vibrate more slowly. This results in a weakened, breathy voice, "old person's voice".[81]

Mental edit

Mental marks of old age include the following:

  • Agreeability: Despite the stressfulness of old age, the words "agreeable" and "accepting" are used commonly to describe people of old age. However, in some people, the dependence that comes with old age induces feelings of incompetence and worthlessness from having to rely on others for many different basic living functions.[14]: 608–9 
  • Caution follows closely with old age. This antipathy toward "risk-taking" often stems from the fact that old people have less to gain and more to lose than younger people.[41]: 112, 116 
  • Depressed mood.[82] According to Cox, Abramson, Devine, and Hollon (2012), old age is a risk factor for depression caused by prejudice. When younger people are prejudiced against the elderly and then become old themselves, their anti-elderly prejudice turns inward, causing depression. "People with more negative age stereotypes will likely have higher rates of depression as they get older."[83] Old age depression results in the over-65 population having the highest suicide rate.[14]: 610 
  • Fear of crime in old age, especially among the frail, sometimes weighs more heavily than concerns about finances or health and restricts what they do. The fear persists in spite of the fact that old people are victims of crime less often than younger people.[14]: 617 
  • Increasing fear of health problems.
  • Mental disorders affect about 15% of people aged 60+ according to estimates by the World Health Organization.[84] Another survey taken in 15 countries reported that mental disorders of adults interfered with their daily activities more than physical problems.[14]: 610 
  • Reduced mental and cognitive ability:[85][86] Memory loss is common in old age due to the brain's decreased ability to encode, store, and retrieve information. It takes more time to learn the same amount of new information.[87] The prevalence of dementia increases in old age from about 10% at age 65 to about 50% over age 85.[88] Alzheimer's disease accounts for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases. Demented behavior can include wandering, physical aggression, verbal outbursts, depression, and psychosis.[89]
  • Stubbornness: A study of over 400 seniors found a "preference for the routine".[90][91] Explanations include old age's toll on "fluid intelligence" and the "more deeply entrenched" ways of the old.[41]: 116 

Perspectives edit

Middle age edit

Many books written by authors in middle adulthood depict a few common perceptions on old age.[92] One writer notices the change in his parents: They move slowly, they have less strength, they repeat stories, their minds wander, and they fret.[93] Another writer sees her aged parents and is bewildered: They refuse to follow her advice, they are obsessed with the past, they avoid risk, and they live at a "glacial pace".[94]

In her The Denial of Aging, Dr. Muriel R. Gillick, a baby boomer, accuses her contemporaries of believing that by proper exercise and diet they can avoid the scourges of old age and proceed from middle age to death.[95] Studies find that many people in the 65–84 range can postpone morbidity by practicing healthy lifestyles. However, at about age 85, most people experience similar morbidity.[96] Even with healthy lifestyles, most 85+ people will undergo extended "frailty and disability".[88]

Old age edit

Early old age can be a pleasant time; children are grown, work is over, and there is time to pursue other interests.[14]: 603  Many old people are also willing to get involved in community and activist organizations to promote their well-being. In contrast, perceptions of old age by writers 80+ years old tend to be negative.[97]

Georges Minois [Wikidata] writes that the first man known to talk about his old age was an Egyptian scribe who lived 4,500 years ago. The scribe addressed God with a prayer of lament:[98]: 14 

O Sovereign my Lord! Oldness has come; old age has descended. Feebleness has arrived; dotage is here anew. The heart sleeps wearily every day.
The eyes are weak, the ears are deaf, the strength is disappearing because of weariness of the heart and the mouth is silent and cannot speak.
The heart is forgetful and cannot recall yesterday. The bone suffers old age. Good is become evil. All taste is gone. What old age does to men is evil in every respect.[98]: 14–5 

Minois comments that the scribe's "cry shows that nothing has changed in the drama of decrepitude between the age of the Pharaoh and the atomic age" and "expresses all the anguish of old people in the past and the present".[98]: 14 

Lillian Rubin, active in her 80s as an author, sociologist, and psychotherapist, opens her book 60 on Up: The Truth about Aging in America with "getting old sucks. It always has, it always will." Dr. Rubin contrasts the "real old age" with the "rosy pictures" painted by middle-age writers.[99]

Writing at the age of 87, Mary C. Morrison describes the "heroism" required by old age: to live through the disintegration of one's own body or that of someone you love. Morrison concludes, "old age is not for the fainthearted".[100] In the book Life Beyond 85 Years, the 150 interviewees had to cope with physical and mental debilitation and with losses of loved ones. One interviewee described living in old age as "pure hell".[101]: 7–8, 208 

Research has shown that in high-income countries, on average, one in four people over 60 and one in three over 75 feels lonely.[102]

Misconceptions edit

Johnson and Barer did a pioneering study of Life Beyond 85 Years by interviews over a six-year period. In talking with 85-year-olds and older, they found some popular conceptions about old age to be erroneous. Such erroneous conceptions include (1) people in old age have at least one family member for support, (2) old age well-being requires social activity, and (3) "successful adaptation" to age-related changes demands a continuity of self-concept. In their interviews, Johnson and Barer found that 24% of the 85+ had no face-to-face family relationships; many have outlived their families. Second, that contrary to popular notions, the interviews revealed that the reduced activity and socializing of the over-85s does not harm their well-being; they "welcome increased detachment". Third, rather than a continuity of self-concept, as the interviewees faced new situations they changed their "cognitive and emotional processes" and reconstituted their "self–representation".[101]: 5–6 

Societal and historical edit

Based on his survey of old age in history, Georges Minois concludes that "it is clear that always and everywhere youth has been preferred to old age". In Western thought, "old age is an evil, an infirmity and a dreary time of preparation for death". Furthermore, death is often preferred over "decrepitude, because death means deliverance".[98]: 303 

"The problem of the ambiguity of old age has ... been with us since the stage of primitive society; it was both the source of wisdom and of infirmity, experience and decrepitude, of prestige and suffering."[98]: 11 

In the Classical period of Greek and Roman cultures, old age was denigrated as a time of "decline and decrepitude".[103]: 6–7  "Beauty and strength" were esteemed and old age was viewed as defiling and ugly. Old age was reckoned as one of the unanswerable "great mysteries" along with evil, pain, and suffering. "Decrepitude, which shrivels heroes, seemed worse than death."[98]: 43 

Historical periods reveal a mixed picture of the "position and status" of old people, but there has never been a "golden age of aging".[103]: 6  Studies have challenged the popular belief that in the past old people were venerated by society and cared for by their families.[104]: 1  Veneration for and antagonism toward the aged have coexisted in complex relationships throughout history.[105] "Old people were respected or despised, honoured or put to death according to circumstance."[98]: 11 

In ancient times, those who were frail were seen as a burden and ignored or, in extreme cases, killed.[103]: 6 [106] People were defined as "old" because of their inability to perform useful tasks rather than their years.[104]: 6 

Although he was skeptical of the gods, Aristotle concurred in the dislike of old people. In his Ethics, he wrote that "old people are miserly; they do not acknowledge disinterested friendship; only seeking for what can satisfy their selfish needs".[98]: 60 

The Medieval and Renaissance periods depicted old age as "cruel or weak".[103]: 7 

The 16th-century Utopians Thomas More and Antonio de Guevara allowed no decrepit old people in their fictional lands.[98]: 277–8, 280 

For Thomas More, on the island of Utopia, when people are so old as to have "out-lived themselves" and are terminally ill, in pain, and a burden to everyone, the priests exhort them about choosing to die. The priests assure them that "they shall be happy after death". If they choose to die, they end their lives by starvation or by taking opium.[107]

Antonio de Guevara's utopian nation "had a custom, not to live longer than sixty five years". At that age, they practiced self-immolation. Rather than condemn the practice, Bishop Guevara called it a "golden world" in which people "have overcome the natural appetite to desire to live".[108]

Contemporary perspectives edit

In the modern period, the cultural status of old people has declined in many cultures.[103]: 7  Joan Erikson observed that "aged individuals are often ostracized, neglected, and overlooked; elders are seen no longer as bearers of wisdom but as embodiments of shame".[109]: 114 

Attitudes toward old age well-being vary somewhat between cultures. For example, in the United States, being healthy, physically, and socially active are signs of a good old age. On the other hand, Africans focus more on food and material security and a helpful family when describing old age well-being.[110] Additionally, Koreans are more anxious about aging and more scared of old people than Americans are.[111]

Research on age-related attitudes consistently finds that negative attitudes exceed positive attitudes toward old people because of their looks and behavior.[112] In his study Aging and Old Age, Posner discovers "resentment and disdain of older people" in American society.[41]: 320  Harvard University's implicit-association test measures implicit "attitudes and beliefs" about "Young vis a vis Old".[113] Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People, a book about the test, reports that 80% of Americans have an "automatic preference for the young over old" and that attitude is true worldwide. The young are "consistent in their negative attitude" toward the old.[114] Ageism documents that Americans generally have "little tolerance for older persons and very few reservations about harboring negative attitudes" about them.[115]

Despite its prevalence, ageism is seldom the subject of public discourse.[22]: 23 

Simulated edit

Simone de Beauvoir wrote that "there is one form of experience that belongs only to those that are old – that of old age itself".[116] Nevertheless, simulations of old age attempt to help younger people gain some understanding.

Texas A&M University offers a plan for an "Aging Simulation" workshop.[117] The workshop is adapted from Sensitizing People to the Processes of Aging.[118] Some of the simulations include:

  • Sight: Wearing swimmer's goggles with black paper pasted to lens with only a small hole to simulate tunnel vision
  • Hearing: Use ear plugs to dull the sound of people talking
  • Touch: Trying to button a shirt or buckle a belt while wearing thick gloves
  • Dexterity: Unscrew a jar lid with tape around several fingers
  • Mobility and balance: Carry packages in one hand while using a walker

The Macklin Intergenerational Institute conducts Xtreme Aging workshops, as depicted in The New York Times.[119] A condensed version was presented on NBC's Today Show and is available online.[120] One exercise was to lay out 3 sets of 5 slips of paper. On set #1, write your 5 most enjoyed activities; on set #2, write your 5 most valued possessions; on set #3, write your 5 most loved people. Then "lose" them one by one, trying to feel each loss, until you have lost them all, as happens in old age.

Frailty edit

 
An image of an elderly man being guided by a young child accompanies William Blake's poem London, from his Songs of Innocence and Experience[121]

Most people in the age range of 65–79 (the years of retirement and early old age) enjoy rich possibilities for a full life, but the condition of frailty, distinguished by "bodily failure" and greater dependence, becomes increasingly common from around age 80.[97] In the United States, hospital discharge data from 2003 to 2011 shows that injury was the most common reason for hospitalization among patients aged 65+.[122]

Gerontologists note the lack of research regarding and the difficulty in defining frailty. However, they add that physicians recognize frailty when they see it.[123]: xxi, 4, 6 

A group of geriatricians proposed a general definition of frailty as "a physical state of increased vulnerability to stressors[124] that results from decreased reserves and disregulation[125] in multiple physiological systems".[123]: 20 

Frailty is a common condition in later old age but different definitions of frailty produce diverse assessments of prevalence. One study placed the incidence of frailty for ages 65+ at 10.7%.[126] Another study placed the incidence of frailty in age 65+ population at 22% for women and 15% for men.[127]: 106  A Canadian study illustrated how frailty increases with age and calculated the prevalence for 65+ as 22.4% and for 85+ as 43.7%.[128]

A worldwide study of "patterns of frailty" based on data from 20 nations found (a) a consistent correlation between frailty and age, (b) a higher frequency among women, and (c) more frailty in wealthier nations where greater support and medical care increases longevity.[129]

In Norway, a 20-year longitudinal study of 400 people found that bodily failure and greater dependence became prevalent in the 80+ years. The study calls these years the "fourth age" or "old age in the real meaning of the term". Similarly, the "Berlin Aging Study" rated overall functionality on four levels: good, medium, poor, and very poor. People in their 70s were mostly rated good. In the 80–90 year range, the four levels of functionality were divided equally. By the 90–100 year range, 60% would be considered frail because of very poor functionality and only 5% still possessed good functionality.[97]

Markers edit

Three unique markers of frailty have been proposed: (a) loss of any notion of invincibility, (b) loss of ability to do things essential to one's care, and (c) loss of possibility for a subsequent life stage.[130]

Old age survivors on average deteriorate from agility in their early retirement years (65-79) to a period of frailty preceding death. This deterioration is gradual for some and precipitous for others. Frailty is marked by an array of chronic physical and mental problems which means that frailty is not treatable as a specific disease. These problem,s coupled with increased dependency in the basic activities of daily living (ADLs) required for personal care, add emotional problems: depression and anxiety.[131] In sum, frailty has been depicted as a group of "complex issues", distinct but "causally interconnected", that often include "comorbid diseases",[132] progressive weakness, stress, exhaustion, and depression.[123]: 25–6 

Care and costs edit

 
The hand of an elderly person
 
Women at the On Lok Senior Health Services day care program in San Francisco, late 1970s

Frail people require a high level of care. Medical advances have made it possible to extend life, or "postpone death", at old age for years. This added time costs many frail people "prolonged sickness, dependence, pain, and suffering".[123]: 9 

According to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the rate of emergency department visits was consistently highest among patients ages 85 years and older in 2006–2011 in the United States.[133] Additionally, patients aged 65+ had the highest percentage of hospital stays for adults with multiple chronic conditions but the second highest percentage of hospital costs in 2003–2014.[134]

These final years are also costly in economic terms.[135]: 17–8, 92  One out of every four Medicare dollars is spent on the frail in their last year of life ... in attempts to postpone death.[136]

Medical treatments in the final days are not only economically costly, they are often unnecessary or even harmful.[136] Nortin Hadler, M.D. warns against the tendency to medicalize and overtreat the frail.[137] In her Choosing Medical Care in Old Age, Michael R. Gillick M.D. argues that appropriate medical treatment for the frail is not the same as for the robust. The frail are vulnerable to "being tipped over" by any physical stress put on the system such as medical interventions.[127]: 116, 189 

In addition to everyday care, frail elderly people and others with disabilities are particularly vulnerable during natural disasters.[138] They may be unable or unwilling to evacuate to avoid a hurricane or wildfire.[138]

Death edit

Old age, death, and frailty are closely linked, with approximately half the deaths in old age preceded by months or years of frailty.[123]: 3, 19 

Older Adults' Views on Death is based on interviews with 109 people in the 70–90 age range, with a mean age of 80.7. Almost 20% of the people wanted to use whatever treatment that might postpone death. About the same number said that, given a terminal illness, they would choose assisted suicide. Roughly half chose doing nothing except live day by day until death comes naturally without medical or other intervention designed to prolong life. This choice was coupled with a desire to receive palliative care if needed.[19]: 6–7, 9, 12, 32 

About half of older adults have multimorbidity, that is, they have three or more chronic conditions.[139] Medical advances have made it possible to "postpone death", but in many cases this postponement adds "prolonged sickness, dependence, pain, and suffering", a time that is costly in social, psychological, and economic terms.[135]: 18, 72 

The longitudinal interviews of 150 age 85+ people summarized in Life Beyond 85 Years found "progressive terminal decline" in the year prior to death: constant fatigue, much sleep, detachment from people, things, and activities, simplified lives. Most of the interviewees did not fear death; some would welcome it. One person said, "Living this long is pure hell." However, nearly everyone feared a long process of dying. Some wanted to die in their sleep; others wanted to die "on their feet".[101]: 202–7 

The study of Older Adults' Views on Death found that the more frail people were, the more "pain, suffering, and struggles" they were enduring, the more likely they were to "accept and welcome" death as a release from their misery. Their fear about the process of dying was that it would prolong their distress. Besides being a release from misery, some saw death as a way to reunite with deceased loved ones. Others saw death as a way to free their caretakers from the burden of their care.[19]: 55, 270, 276 

Religiosity edit

Generally speaking, old people have always been more religious than young people.[140] At the same time, wide cultural variations exist.[14]: 608 

In the United States, 90% of old age Hispanics view themselves as very, quite, or somewhat religious.[141]: 125  The Pew Research Center's study of black and white old people found that 62% of those in ages 65–74 and 70% in ages 75+ asserted that religion was "very important" to them. For all 65+ people, more women (76%) than men (53%) and more blacks (87%) than whites (63%) consider religion "very important" to them. This compares to 54% in the 30–49 age range.[142]

In a British 20-year longitudinal study, less than half of the old people surveyed said that religion was "very important" to them, and a quarter said they had become less religious in old age.[14]: 608  The late-life rise in religiosity is stronger in Japan than in the United States, but in the Netherlands it is minimal.[14]: 608 

In the practice of religion, a study of 60+ people found that 25% read the Bible every day and over 40% watch religious television.[141]: 12  Pew Research found that in the age 65+ range, 75% of whites and 87% of blacks pray daily.[142] When comparing religiosity, the individual practice may be a more accurate measure than participation in organized religion. With organized religion, participation may often be hindered due to transportation or health problems.[141]: 125 

Demographic changes edit

In the industrialized countries, life expectancy and, thus, the old age population have increased consistently over the last decades.[143] In the United States the proportion of people aged 65 or older increased from 4% in 1900 to about 12% in 2000.[144] In 1900, only about 3 million of the nation's citizens were 65 or older (out of 76 million total American citizens). By 2000, the number of senior citizens had increased to about 35 million (of 280 million US citizens). Population experts estimate that more than 50 million Americans—about 17 percent of the population—will be 65 or older in 2020.[145] By 2050, it is projected that at least 400,000 Americans will be 100 or older.[146]

The number of old people is growing around the world chiefly because of the post–World War II baby boom and increases in the provision and standards of health care.[147] By 2050, 33% of the developed world's population and almost 20% of the less developed world's population will be over 60 years old.[148]

The growing number of people living to their 80s and 90s in the developed world has strained public welfare systems and has also resulted in increased incidence of diseases like cancer and dementia that were rarely seen in premodern times. When the United States Social Security program was created, people older than 65 numbered only around 5% of the population and the average life expectancy of a 65-year-old in 1936 was approximately 5 years, while in 2011 it could often range from 10 to 20 years. Other issues that can arise from an increasing population are growing demands for health care and an increase in demand for different types of services.[149]

Of the roughly 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, about two thirds—100,000 per day—die of age-related causes.[150] In industrialized nations, the proportion is much higher, reaching 90%.[150]

Psychosocial aspects edit

 
An elderly Khmer woman

According to Erik Erikson's "Stages of Psychosocial Development", the human personality is developed in a series of eight stages that take place from the time of birth and continue on throughout an individual's complete life. He characterises old age as a period of "Integrity vs. Despair", during which people focus on reflecting back on their lives. Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair. Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death.[151][152][153] Coping is a very important skill needed in the aging process to move forward with life and not be 'stuck' in the past. The way people adapt and cope, reflects their aging process on a psycho-social level.[154]

For people in their 80s and 90s, Joan Erikson added a ninth stage in The Life Cycle Completed: Extended Version.[109] As she wrote, she added the ninth stage because the Integrity of the eighth stage imposes "a serious demand on the senses of elders" and the Wisdom of the eighth stage requires capacities that ninth stage elders "do not usually have".[109]: 112–3 

Newman & Newman also proposed a ninth stage of life, Elderhood. Elderhood refers to those individuals who live past the life expectancy of their birth cohorts. They described two different types of people in this stage of life. The "young old" are the healthy individuals who can function on their own without assistance and can complete their daily tasks independently, while the "old old" are those who depend on specific services due to declining health or diseases.[155]

Theories edit

 
An elderly Somali woman
 
An elderly woman walks along a road.

Social theories, or concepts,[156] propose explanations for the distinctive relationships between old people and their societies.

One theory, proposed in 1961, is the disengagement theory, which proposes that, in old age, a mutual disengagement between people and their society occurs in anticipation of death. By becoming disengaged from work and family responsibilities, according to this concept, people are enabled to enjoy their old age without stress. This theory has been subjected to the criticism that old age disengagement is neither natural, inevitable, nor beneficial.[157] Furthermore, disengaging from social ties in old age is not across the board: unsatisfactory ties are dropped and satisfying ones kept.[14]: 613 

In opposition to the disengagement theory, the activity theory of old age argues that disengagement in old age occurs not by desire, but by the barriers to social engagement imposed by society. This theory has been faulted for not factoring in psychological changes that occur in old age as shown by reduced activity, even when available. It has also been found that happiness in old age is not proportional to activity.[14]: 614 

According to the continuity theory, in spite of the inevitable differences imposed by their old age, most people try to maintain continuity in personhood, activities, and relationships with their younger days.[14]: 614 

Socioemotional selectivity theory also depicts how people maintain continuity in old age. The focus of this theory is continuity sustained by social networks, albeit networks narrowed by choice and by circumstances. The choice is for more harmonious relationships. The circumstances are loss of relationships by death and distance.[14]: 614–5 

Life expectancy edit

Life expectancy by nation at birth in the year 2011 ranged from 48 years to 82. Low values indicate high death rates for infants and children.[158]

In most parts of the world women live, on average, longer than men; even so, the disparities vary between 12 years in Russia to no difference or higher life expectancy for men in countries such as Zimbabwe and Uganda.[159]

The number of elderly people worldwide began to surge in the second half of the 20th century. In developed countries before then, five or less percent of the population was over 65. Few lived longer than their 70s and people who attained advanced age (i.e. their 80s) were rare enough to be a novelty and were revered as wise sages. The worldwide over-65 population in 1960 was one-third of the under-5 population. By 2013, the over-65 population had grown to equal the under-5 population and is projected to double the under-5 population by 2050.[160]

Before the surge in the over-65 population, accidents and disease claimed many people before they could attain old age, and health problems in those over 65 meant a quick death in most cases. If a person lived to an advanced age, it was due to genetic factors and/or a relatively easy lifestyle, since diseases of old age could not be treated before the 20th century.[161]

In October 2016, a group of scientists identified the maximum human lifespan at an average age of 115, with an absolute upper limit of 125 years.[162] However, the concept of a maximum lifespan of humans is still widely debated among the scientific community.[163]

Benefits edit

German chancellor Otto von Bismarck created the world's first comprehensive government social safety net in the 1880s, providing for old age pensions.[164]

In the United States of America, and the United Kingdom, 65 (UK 60 for women) was traditionally the age of retirement with full old age benefits.[165][166]

In 2003, the age at which a United States citizen became eligible for full Social Security benefits began to increase gradually, and will continue to do so until it reaches 67 in 2027. Full retirement age for Social Security benefits for people retiring in 2012 is age 66.[167] In the United Kingdom, the state pension age for men and women will rise to 66 in 2020 with further increases scheduled after that.

Originally, the purpose of old age pensions was to prevent elderly people from being reduced to beggary, which is still common in some underdeveloped countries, but growing life expectancies and older populations have brought into question the model under which pension systems were designed.[168] By 1990, the United States was spending 30 per cent of its budget on the elderly, compared with 2 per cent on education.[169] The dominant perception of the American old age population changed from "needy" and "worthy" to "powerful" and "greedy", old people getting more than their share of the nation's resources.[170] However, in 2011, using a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), the old age American poverty rate was measured as 15.9%.[48]

Assistance: devices and personal edit

 
An elderly Bangladeshi man with a walking stick
 
A walker in the apartment of a senior woman

In the United States in 2008, 11 million people aged 65+ lived alone: 5 million or 22% of ages 65–74, 4 million or 34% of ages 75–84, and 2 million or 41% of ages 85+. The 2007 gender breakdown for all people 65+ was men 19% and women 39%.[171]

Many new assistive devices made especially for the home have enabled more old people to care for their own activities of daily living (ADL). Some examples of devices are a medical alert and safety system, shower seat (making it so the person does not get tired in the shower and fall), a bed cane (offering support to those with unsteadiness getting in and out of bed) and an ADL cuff (used with eating utensils for people with paralysis or hand weakness).[172]

A Swedish study found that at age 76, 46% of the subjects used assistive devices. When they reached age 86, 69% used them. The subjects were ambivalent regarding the use of the assistive devices: as "enablers" or as "disablers".[173] People who view assistive devices as enabling greater independence accept and use them, whereas those who see them as symbols of disability reject them.[174] However, organizations like Love for the Elderly aim to combat such age-related prejudice by educating the public about the importance of appreciating growing older, while also providing services of kindness to elders in senior homes.[175]

Even with assistive devices as of 2006, 8.5 million Americans needed personal assistance because of impaired basic activities of daily living required for personal care or impaired instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) required for independent living. Projections place this number at 21 million by 2030 when 40% of Americans over 70 will need assistance.[123]: 17  There are many options for such long-term care to those who require it.[176][177][178] There is home care in which a family member, volunteer, or trained professional will aid the person in need and help with daily activities. Another option is community services which can provide the person with transportation, meal plans, or activities in senior centers. A third option is assisted living where 24-hour round-the-clock supervision is given with aid in eating, bathing, dressing, etc. A final option is a nursing home which provides professional nursing care.[179]

Culture edit

In 2014, a documentary film called The Age of Love used humor and the poignant adventures of 30 seniors who attend a speed dating event for 70 to 90-year-olds and discover how the search for romance changes—or does not change—from childhood to old age.[180]

Artistic depiction edit

Scholarly literature has emerged, especially in Britain, showing historical trends in the visual depiction of old age.[181][182][183][184]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition (American Psychological Association, 2009) ISBN 1433805618[page needed]
  2. ^ Old age. Oxford Reference. 2006. doi:10.1093/acref/9780198568506.001.0001. ISBN 9780198568506. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  3. ^ "Senescence – definition of senescence by The Free Dictionary". Thefreedictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  4. ^ "Gerontology – definition of gerontology by The Free Dictionary". Thefreedictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  5. ^ "Geriatrics – definition of geriatrics by The Free Dictionary". Thefreedictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  6. ^ "Jeremy Hunt highlights plight of 'chronically lonely' – BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-10-18. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  7. ^ "How can we reduce the toll of loneliness in older adults?". NIHR Evidence (Plain English summary). 2021-09-30. doi:10.3310/collection_47889. Archived from the original on 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  8. ^ "Human rights of older persons". OHCHR.org. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  9. ^ Barry, Patricia. "Medicare Eligibility Requirements – How to Qualify for Medicare – AARP Everyw..." AARP. Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  10. ^ Scherbov, Sergei; Sanderson, Warren (2019). "New Measures of Population Ageing" (PDF). United Nations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  11. ^ Kowal, Paul; Peachey, Karen (June 2001). "Indicators for the Minimum Data Set Project on Ageing: A Critical Review in sub-Saharan Africa" (PDF). World Health Organization (report). p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  12. ^ Gorman M. Development and the rights of older people. In: Randel J, et al., eds. The ageing and development report: poverty, independence and the world's older people. London, Earthscan Publications Ltd.,1999:3-21
  13. ^ Shahar, Shulamith (1993). "Who were Old in the Middle Ages?". Social History of Medicine. 6 (3): 313–341. doi:10.1093/shm/6.3.313. PMID 11639284.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Berk, Laura E. (2010). Development Through the Lifespan (5th ed.). Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 9780205687930.
  15. ^ Torpy, Janet M.; Lynm, Cassio; Glass, Richard M. (2006). "Frailty in Older Adults". JAMA. 296 (18): 2280. doi:10.1001/jama.296.18.2280. PMID 17090776.
  16. ^ Forman, D. E.; Berman, A. D.; McCabe, C. H.; Baim, D. S.; Wei, J. Y. (1992). "PTCA in the elderly: The "young-old" versus the "old-old"". Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 40 (1): 19–22. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1992.tb01823.x. PMID 1727842. S2CID 10617191.
  17. ^ Zizza, C. A.; Ellison, K. J.; Wernette, C. M. (2009). "Total Water Intakes of Community-Living Middle-Old and Oldest-Old Adults". The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 64A (4): 481–486. doi:10.1093/gerona/gln045. PMC 2657166. PMID 19213852.
  18. ^ "Demographics of Aging". Transgenerational.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  19. ^ a b c Cicirelli, Victor G. (2002). Older Adults' Views on Death. Springer Pub. ISBN 9780826170125.
  20. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "third age".
  21. ^ Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard, Rethinking Old Age: Theorizing the Fourth Age (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), vii, 119–120.
  22. ^ a b Phillips, Judith E.; Ajrouch, Kristine J.; Hillcoat-Nalletamby, Sarah (2010). Key Concepts in Social Gerontology. SAGE. ISBN 9781412922715.
  23. ^ John Wattis, Stephen Curran, Practical Psychiatry of Old Age (Radcliffe Publishing, 2006). 2.
  24. ^ a b "When Does Someone Attain Old Age? SS-101-96". ohioline.osu.edu. Archived from the original on 19 March 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  25. ^ "WHO | Definition of an older or elderly person". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  26. ^ "Oxford Learner's Dictionaries | Find the meanings, definitions, pictures, pronunciation of words at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com". Oup.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-30. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  27. ^ "Bartleby.com: Great Books Online – Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more". Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  28. ^ "Chambersharrap.co.uk". Chambersharrap.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  29. ^ "senior citizen Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". Dictionary.cambridge.org. 2016-03-30. Archived from the original on 2009-12-25. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  30. ^ "senior citizen – Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online". Ldoceonline.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  31. ^ Waughfield, Claire G.; Burckhalter, Teresa S. (2002). Mental health concepts (5th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar/Thomson Learning. p. 64. ISBN 9780766838307. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  32. ^ "The Senior Times Online". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  33. ^ Hirschfeld: On Line. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. February 1, 2000. p. 10. ISBN 9781557833563. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  34. ^ Al Hirschfeld (1996). The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story (VHS). Cabin Fever Entertainment.
  35. ^ Corliss, Richard (January 29, 2003). "That Old Feeling: The Fun in Al Hirschfeld". Time. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  36. ^ "What Age is Considered Senior Citizen - MGFS". My Guide For Seniors. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  37. ^ Shin-Hyun, Ahn (2011-04-04). "Economic Report". SERIWorld. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  38. ^ "Retirement Age Calculator". Ssa.gov. 2014-09-03. Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  39. ^ "Changes to Old Age Security". Archived from the original on 2012-04-01. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  40. ^ Salokangas, R. K.; Joukamaa, M (1991). "Physical and mental health changes in retirement age". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 55 (2–4): 100–107. doi:10.1159/000288415. PMID 1891555.
  41. ^ a b c d Posner, Richard A. (1995). Aging and Old Age. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226675664.
  42. ^ "Ageing: Myth and Reality" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  43. ^ Birren, J E; Fisher, L M (1995). "Aging and Speed of Behavior: Possible Consequences for Psychological Functioning". Annual Review of Psychology. 46: 329–353. doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.46.020195.001553. PMID 7872732.
  44. ^ Donald H. Kausler and Barry C. Kausler, The Graying of America: An Encyclopedia of Aging, Health, Mind, and Behavior (University of Illinois, 2001), 376–377.
  45. ^ "Older people are happier than you. Why?". Edition.cnn.com. 2015-04-24. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  46. ^ a b c "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  47. ^ a b "The Normal Aging Process" (PDF). Documbase.com. 2012-01-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  48. ^ a b "Administration on Aging" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-10. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  49. ^ Pistelli, R.; Lange, P.; Miller, D.L. (2003-05-01). "Determinants of prognosis of COPD in the elderly: mucus hypersecretion, infections, cardiovascular comorbidity | European Respiratory Society". European Respiratory Journal. 21: 10s–14s. doi:10.1183/09031936.03.00403403. PMID 12762568.
  50. ^ "Helping Your Elder with Grooming and Hygiene – For Dummies". Dummies.com. 2008-11-07. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  51. ^ "Essential Tremor: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment". Webmd.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  52. ^ a b "Older Adults' Health and Age-Related Changes". Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  53. ^ "Facts About Cataract". September 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  54. ^ cf. Table 6 in: Harold A. Kahn, Howard M. Leibowitz, James P. Ganley, Mohandas M. Kini, Theodore Colton, Rita S. Nickerson, Thomas R. Dawber (1977). "The Framingham Eye Study I. Outline And Major Prevalence Findings". American Journal of Epidemiology Vol 106, No 1, pp. 17–32
  55. ^ Bates; M.D, W. H. Bates (2008). Better Eyesight Without Glasses. Orient Paperbacks. ISBN 978-8122204490 – via Google Books.
  56. ^ "Who Is At Risk for Falls? - American Bone Health". americanbonehealth.org. 2016-09-28. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  57. ^ "Falls and Injury Statistics for Seniors and Elderly". Learnnottofall.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  58. ^ "Important Facts about Falls | Home and Recreational Safety | CDC Injury Center". Cdc.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  59. ^ Judge, James O. (2016-03-25). "Gait Disorders in the Elderly – Geriatrics – Merck Manuals Professional Edition". Merckmanuals.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  60. ^ a b c "Healthy, Normal Aging: Physical Changes in Seniors". Webmd.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  61. ^ Vary, Jay C. (1 November 2015). "Selected Disorders of Skin Appendages—Acne, Alopecia, Hyperhidrosis". Med. Clin. North Am. 99 (6): 1195–1211. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2015.07.003. PMID 26476248.
  62. ^ Meyer, Laurence. "Why does hair turn gray?". scientificamerican.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-14. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  63. ^ Feder, K.; Michaud, D.; Ramage-Morin, P.; McNamee, J.; Beauregard, Y. (2015). "Prevalence of hearing loss among Canadians aged 20 to 79: Audiometric results from the 2012/2013 Canadian Health Measures Survey". Health Reports. 26 (7): 18–25. PMID 26177043.
  64. ^ Aging, National Institute on (12 July 2011). "Heart Health". Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  65. ^ "The Immune System in the Elderly". Medscape.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  66. ^ "Aging changes in the lungs: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia". Medlineplus.gov. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  67. ^ "Department of Neurology – Department of Neurology" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  68. ^ Godman, Heidi (2013-09-18). "Two questions can reveal mobility problems in seniors – Harvard Health Blog – Harvard Health Publications". Health.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  69. ^ King, Steven A. (2009-07-06). "The Challenge of Geriatric Pain". Psychiatric Times. Psychiatric Times Vol 26 No 7. 26 (7). Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  70. ^ Gary McCleane and Howard Smith, editors, Clinical Management of the Elderly Patient in Pain (CRC Press, 2006). 150.
  71. ^ Todd B. Nippoldt, M.D. (2015-03-17). "Loss of sex drive in men: Natural with aging?". Mayo Clinic. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  72. ^ Bretschneider, Judy G. (1988). "Sexual interest and behavior in healthy 80- to 102-year-olds – Springer". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 17 (2): 109–129. doi:10.1007/BF01542662. PMID 3395224. S2CID 24417179.
  73. ^ Suzman, Richard (2009). "The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project: An Introduction". The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 64B (Suppl 1): i5–i11. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp078. PMC 2763520. PMID 19837963.
  74. ^ a b DeLamater, John (1 March 2012). "Sexual Expression in Later Life: A Review and Synthesis". J Sex Res. 49 (2–3): 125–141. doi:10.1080/00224499.2011.603168. PMID 22380585. S2CID 13919053.
  75. ^ "Sex, romance, and relationships. AARP Survey of Midlife and Older adults" (PDF). Assets.aarp.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  76. ^ Jana R. Cooke, MD, "Sleep Disorders in the Elderly", Psychiatric Times 25.4 (2008).
  77. ^ McCall, W. V. (2004). "Sleep in the Elderly: Burden, Diagnosis, and Treatment". Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 6 (1): 9–20. doi:10.4088/pcc.v06n0104. PMC 427621. PMID 15486596.
  78. ^ "Aging and energy: Why energy levels go down as... | Gather". Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  79. ^ Volkert D, Kreuel K, Stehle P (2005). "Fluid intake of community-living, independent elderly in Germany-a nationwide, representative study". J Nutr Health Aging. 9 (5): 305–309. PMID 16222395.
  80. ^ Ouslander, J. G. (1981). "Urinary incontinence in the elderly". The Western Journal of Medicine. 135 (6): 482–491. PMC 1273322. PMID 7039134.
  81. ^ The Body Odd (25 January 2013). "The wavery, shaky 'old person's voice,' explained". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  82. ^ Kennedy G.J. The epidemiology of late-life depression. In: Kennedy G. J, editor. Suicide and depression in late life: Critical issues in treatment, research and public policy. New York: John Wiley and Sons; 1996. pp. 23–37.
  83. ^ Cox, W. T. L.; Abramson, L. Y.; Devine, P. G.; Hollon, S. D. (2012). "Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Depression: The Integrated Perspective". Perspectives on Psychological Science. 7 (5): 427–449. doi:10.1177/1745691612455204. PMID 26168502. S2CID 1512121.
  84. ^ "WHO | Mental health and older adults". Who.int. Archived from the original on 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  85. ^ Salthouse, Timothy A. (2009). "When does age-related cognitive decline begin?". Neurobiology of Aging. 30 (4): 507–514. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.09.023. PMC 2683339. PMID 19231028.
  86. ^ Finkel, Deborah; Reynolds, Chandra A. (2013). Behavior Genetics of Cognition Across the Lifespan. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1461474470 – via Google Books.
  87. ^ "Memory loss: When to seek help". Mayo Clinic. 2014-06-05. Archived from the original on 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  88. ^ a b Jacoby, Susan (2011). Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age (1st ed.). Pantheon Books. p. 12. ISBN 9780307377944.
  89. ^ "Alzheimer's disease – Symptoms and causes". Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  90. ^ George P. Moschis, Marketing to Older Consumers (Praeger, 1992), 102.
  91. ^ Martin S. Lindauer, Aging, Creativity, and Art (Springer, 2003), 55–56.
  92. ^ How to Survive Your Aging Parents (Surrey, 2001); Are Your Parents Driving You Crazy? (Vanderwyk & Burnham, 2005); Coping With Your Difficult Older Parent: A Guide for Stressed-Out Children (William Morrow, 1999); Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging Parents: How to Help, How to Survive (Holt, 2005); The Caregiver's Survival Handbook: Caring for Your Aging Parents Without Losing Yourself (Perigee, 2011).
  93. ^ David Solie, How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders (Prentice Hall, 2004), 2.
  94. ^ Matthiessen, Connie. "Elderly Communication | Communicating with Stubborn Elderly Parents". Caring.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  95. ^ Gillick, The Denial of Aging: Perpetual Youth, Eternal Life, and Other Dangerous Fantasies (Harvard, 2007), 5–6.
  96. ^ Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, Karen L. Francis, Priscilla G. MacRae, Physical Dimensions of Aging (Human Kinetics, 2004), 26.
  97. ^ a b c Tor Inge Romoren, Last Years of Long Lives: The Larvik Study (Routledge, 2003), 170.
  98. ^ a b c d e f g h i Minois, Georges (1989). History of Old Age: From Antiquity to the Renaissance. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226530314.
  99. ^ Lillian B. Rubin, 60 on Up: The Truth About Aging in America (Beacon, 2007), 1, 7–8.
  100. ^ Mary C. Morrison, Let Evening Come (1998), 2–3.
  101. ^ a b c Johnson, Colleen L.; Barer, Barbara M. (2003). Life Beyond 85 Years. Prometheus Books. ISBN 9781591020882.
  102. ^ Chawla, Kavita; Kunonga, Tafadzwa Patience; Stow, Daniel; Barker, Robert; Craig, Dawn; Hanratty, Barbara (2021-07-26). Aslam, Muhammad Shahzad (ed.). "Prevalence of loneliness amongst older people in high-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis". PLOS ONE. 16 (7): e0255088. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1655088C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0255088. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 8312979. PMID 34310643.
  103. ^ a b c d e Hillier, Susan M.; Barrow, Georgia M. (2014). Aging, the Individual, and Society (10th ed.). Cengage. ISBN 978-1305176935.
  104. ^ a b Johnson, Paul; Thane, Pat, eds. (1998). Old age from Antiquity to Post-modernity (1st ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9780415164641.
  105. ^ "The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  106. ^ Wang, Mo (8 November 2012). The Oxford Handbook of Retirement. OUP USA. ISBN 9780199746521 – via Google Books.
  107. ^ "World History Project: World History from Mesopotamia to World War II". History-world.org. Archived from the original on November 1, 2004. Retrieved 8 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  108. ^ "The diall of princes: by Don Anthony of Guevara: tr. by Sir Thomas ... – Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library | HathiTrust Digital Library". Babel.hathitrust.org. 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  109. ^ a b c Erikson, Erik H.; Erikson, Joan M. (1998). The Life Cycle Completed: Extended Version. W. W. Norton. ISBN 9780393347432.
  110. ^ Keith, Jennie; Fry, Christine; Glascock, Anthony; Ikels, Charlotte; Dickerson-Putman, Jeanette; Harpending, Henry; Draper, Patricia (1994). The Aging Experience: Diversity and Commonality across Cultures. Thousand Oaks, California, United States: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi:10.4135/9781452243382. ISBN 978-0-8039-5867-8.
  111. ^ Yun, Rebecca J.; Lachman, Margie E. (2006-03-01). "Perceptions of Aging in Two Cultures: Korean and American Views on Old Age". Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. 21 (1): 55–70. doi:10.1007/s10823-006-9018-y. ISSN 1573-0719. PMID 17103311. S2CID 13558473.
  112. ^ James E. Birren and K Warner Schaie, eds., Handbook of the Psychology of Aging (Academic, 2011), 253.
  113. ^ "ProjectImplicit". Implicit.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  114. ^ Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald, Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People (Random House, 2013), 67.
  115. ^ Todd D. Nelson, ed, Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons (Bradford, 2004), ix.
  116. ^ Simone de Beauvoir, The Coming of Age, trans by Patrick O'Brian (Norton, 1996), 381.
  117. ^ "Aging Simulation: Sensitizing People to the Process of Aging" (PDF). Fcs.tamu.edu. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  118. ^ Sensitizing People to the Processes of Aging: The In-Service Educator's Guide by Marvin Ernst and Herbert Shore, Dallas Geriatric Research Institute, 1977.
  119. ^ "Simulating Age 85, With Lessons on Offering Care". The New York Times. 3 August 2008. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  120. ^ "TODAY Video – Latest TODAY show clips, news & video". Today.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  121. ^ Eaves, Morris; Essick, Robert N.; Viscomi, Joseph (eds.). "Songs of Innocence and of Experience, object 46 (Bentley 46, Erdman 46, Keynes 46) "LONDON"". William Blake Archive. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  122. ^ Weiss AJ, Barrett ML, Andrews RM (July 2014). "Trends and Projections of U.S. Hospital Costs by Payer, 2003–2013". HCUP Statistical Brief #176. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Archived from the original on 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  123. ^ a b c d e f Burbank, Patricia M., ed. (2006). Vulnerable Older Adults: Health Care Needs and Interventions. Springer Pub. ISBN 9780826103604.
  124. ^ "Stressors | definition of stressors by Medical dictionary". Medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  125. ^ "Dysregulation Medical Definition | Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  126. ^ Collard, Rose M.; Boter, Han; Schoevers, Robert A.; Oude Voshaar, Richard C. (2012). "Prevalence of Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Persons: A Systematic Review". Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 60 (8): 1487–92. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.04054.x. PMID 22881367. S2CID 2689519.
  127. ^ a b Gillick, Muriel R. (1996). Choosing Medical Care in Old Age: What Kind, How Much, When to Stop (1st ed.). Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674128132.
  128. ^ "Prevalence of Frailty Increases Throughout Adulthood". Medscape.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  129. ^ Harttgen, Kenneth; Kowal, Paul; Strulik, Holger; Chatterji, Somnath; Vollmer, Sebastian (2013). "Patterns of Frailty in Older Adults: Comparing Results from Higher and Lower Income Countries Using the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE)". PLOS ONE. 8 (10): e75847. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...875847H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075847. PMC 3812225. PMID 24204581.
  130. ^ "Nortin M. Hadler: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle". Amazon. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  131. ^ Muriel R. Gillick, Lifelines: Living Longer, Growing Frail, Taking Heart (Norton, 2001), x, xv–xvi, 5–6.
  132. ^ "diseases in addition to the primary disease"
  133. ^ Skiner HG, Blanchard J, Elixhauser A (September 2014). "Trends in Emergency Department Visits, 2006–2011". HCUP Statistical Brief #179. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Archived from the original on 2014-12-24. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
  134. ^ Steiner CA, Barett ML, Weiss AJ, Andrews RM (November 2014). "Trends and Projections in Hospital Stays for Adults With Multiple Chronic Conditions, 2003–2014". HCUP Statistical Brief #183. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. PMID 25558764. Archived from the original on 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  135. ^ a b Logue, Barbara (1993). Last Rights: Death Control and the Elderly in America. Lexington Books. ISBN 9780669273700.
  136. ^ a b Wang, Penelope (2012-12-12). "Cutting the High Cost of End-of-Life Care". Money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  137. ^ Nortin M. Hadler, Rethinking Aging: Growing Old and Living Well in an Overtreated Society (University of North Carolina, 2011) 1, 3.
  138. ^ a b Rabin, Roni Caryn (2018-09-14). "When You're Elderly and Ill and a Storm Is Coming (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  139. ^ "Multimorbidity | Johns Hopkins Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology". Hopkinsmedicine.org. 2011-06-24. Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  140. ^ DAVIE, GRACE; VINCENT, JOHN (1998). "Progress Report : Religion and old age" (PDF). Ageing and Society. Cambridge University Press. 18: 101–110. doi:10.1017/S0144686X97006776. hdl:10036/57193. S2CID 53422264. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  141. ^ a b c Kimble, Melvin A.; McFadden, Susan H.; Ellor, James W., eds. (1995). Aging, Spirituality, and Religion. Volume 1: A Handbook. Fortress Press. ISBN 9780800634186.
  142. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  143. ^ "Table 26: Life expectancy at birth, at 65 years of age, and at 75 years of age by race and sex: United States, selected years, 1900 – 2005" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  144. ^ Meyer, Julie (2001). "Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR/01-12, U.S." (PDF). Washington, DC: Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  145. ^ "Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators of Well-Being". Agingstats.gov. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  146. ^ "Living to 120 and Beyond: Americans' Views on Aging, Medical Advances and Radical Life Extension | Pew Research Center". Pewforum.org. 2013-08-06. Archived from the original on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  147. ^ "World Population Ageing". Un.org. Archived from the original on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  148. ^ John Bond and others, editors, Ageing in Society (Sage, 2007 3rd ed), 1.
  149. ^ "Social Security: A Program and Policy History". Ssa.gov. Archived from the original on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  150. ^ a b De Grey, Aubrey D.N.J (2007). "Life Span Extension Research and Public Debate: Societal Considerations". Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology. 1. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.395.745. doi:10.2202/1941-6008.1011. S2CID 201101995.
  151. ^ Erikson, E.H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.
  152. ^ Erikson, E.H. (1963). Childhood and Society. (2nd ed.). New York: Norton.
  153. ^ Carver, C.S. & Scheir, M.F. (2000). Perspectives on Personality. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon
  154. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2013-12-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  155. ^ Barbara M. Newman, Philip R. Newman, Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach: A Psychosocial Approach (Cengage Learning, 2011), Ch 13 "Later Adulthood (60–75 Years)" and Ch 14, "Elderhood (75 until death)".
  156. ^ "Theory: A conception . . . of something to be done, or of the method of doing it." Oxford English Dictionary Online . December 2013.
  157. ^ "An Overview of Cumming and Henrys Social Disengagement Theory by Michael Totten". Sciences360.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  158. ^ "World Development Indicators | The World Bank". Wdi.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  159. ^ de Blij, Harm. The power of place. Geography, Destiny, and Globalization's Rough Landscape. Oxford University Press. London:2009. p161ff
  160. ^ "Global health and aging" (PDF). Who.int. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  161. ^ "The World Health Report 2004 : Annex Table 2 Deaths by cause, sex and mortality stratum in WHO regions,a estimates for 2002" (PDF). Who.int. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  162. ^ Dong, Xiao; Milholland, Brandon; Vijg, Jan (October 5, 2016). "Evidence for a limit to human lifespan". Nature. 538 (7624): 257–259. Bibcode:2016Natur.538..257D. doi:10.1038/nature19793. PMID 27706136. S2CID 3623127.
  163. ^ Zimmer, Carl (October 5, 2016). "What's the Longest Humans Can Live? 115 Years, New Study Says". New York Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  164. ^ "old age". Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-03. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  165. ^ "Social Security Fact Sheet". Social Security Online. Social Security Administration. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  166. ^ "Overview of the UK pension system" (PDF). European Union. HM Treasury. December 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  167. ^ "Age To Receive Full Social Security Retirement Benefits". U.S. Social SecurityAdministration. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  168. ^ James H. Schulz and Robert H. Binstock, Aging Nation: The Economics and Politics of Growing Older in America (Johns Hopkins, 2008). 3–4.
  169. ^ "U.S. spending". Rolling Stone. April 19, 1990. p. 43.
  170. ^ Laura Katz Olson, The Not-so-golden Years: Caregiving, the Frail Elderly, and the Long-term Care Establishment (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003), 4.
  171. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  172. ^ "Elderly Health Service". Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  173. ^ Häggblom-Kronlöf, Greta; Sonn, Ulla (1 January 2007). "Use of assistive devices – a reality full of contradictions in elderly persons' everyday life". Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. 2 (6): 335–345. doi:10.1080/17483100701701672. PMID 19263564. S2CID 35215512.
  174. ^ "Home Modifications". Homemods.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  175. ^ "Love for the Elderly". Lovefortheelderly.org. Archived from the original on 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  176. ^ Scanlon, W. J. (December 1988). "A perspective on long-term care for the elderly". Health Care Financing Review. Spec No (Suppl): 7–15. ISSN 0195-8631. PMC 4195126. PMID 10312975.
  177. ^ Sunkersing, David; Martin, Finbarr C.; Sullivan, Paul; Bell, Derek (2022-12-09). "Care and support networks of community-dwelling frail individuals in North West London: a comparison of patient and healthcare workers' perceptions". BMC Geriatrics. 22 (1): 953. doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03561-y. ISSN 1471-2318. PMC 9737751. PMID 36494627.
  178. ^ "What Is Long-Term Care?". National Institute on Aging. Archived from the original on 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  179. ^ "CBO : Rising Demand for Long-Term Services and Supports for Elderly People" (PDF). Cbo.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  180. ^ "Documentary tracks seniors in search of love". The Spokesman-Review. 2015-02-02. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  181. ^ Andrew Blaikie, "Beside the sea: Visual imagery, ageing and heritage". Ageing and Society 17#6 (1997): 629–648.
  182. ^ Burholt, Vanessa; Scharf, Thomas; Walsh, Kieran (2013). "Imagery and imaginary of islander identity: Older people and migration in Irish small-island communities". Journal of Rural Studies. 31: 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2013.01.007. hdl:10379/3514.
  183. ^ Wendy Martin, "Visual methods in ageing research" in Julia Twigg and Wendy Martin eds., Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology (2015): 93–104.
  184. ^ Andrew Blaikie, Ageing and popular culture (Cambridge: University Press, 1999), excerpt Archived August 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

External links edit

  • Brody, Elaine M. (2010). "On Being Very, Very Old: An Insider's Perspective". The Gerontologist. 50 (1): 2–10. doi:10.1093/geront/gnp143. PMID 20071402.
  • Milton Crum, "I'm Old" at Association of Hospice & Palliative Care Chaplains or at The Center for Spiritual Resources, http://thecsr.org/resource-directory/im-old-an-essay-on-aging-by-milton-crum/#sthash.e87C5Jyc.dpuf Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine.
  • Laura Carstensen – research at Stanford university's Life-span Development Laboratory, and Stanford Center on Longevity Archived 2019-08-25 at the Wayback Machine.
  • Milton Crum, "I'm Frail" at Association of Hospice & Palliative Care Chaplains, http://www.ahpcc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/imfrail.pdf.
  • Scams targeting the elderly (NCOA)
  • "National Institute of Senior Centers"
  • "National Service – Senior Corps"
Preceded by Stages of human development
Old age
Succeeded by