AGING OF PEOPLE

PUJA PRIYA

LA2-CO-161A

in a human being over time, encompassing physical, psychological, and

social changes. Reaction time, for example, may slow with age, while knowledge of world events and wisdom may expand.

CAUSES:
The causes of aging are uncertain; current theories are assigned to the damage concept, whereby the accumulation of damage (such as DNA oxidation) may cause biological systems to fail, or to the programmed aging concept, whereby internal processes (such as DNA methylation) may cause aging. Programmed aging should not be confused with programmed cell death (apoptosis).

or older will out number children under age 5. Driven

by falling fertility rates and remarkable increases in life expectancy, population aging will continue,even accelerate . The number of people aged 65 or older is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050, with most of the increase indeveloping countries.

or older 8% of world's population.
By 2050, this number

is expected to nearly triple to about 1.5 billion, representing 16% of world's population.although more developed countries have the oldest population profiles, the vast majority of older people—and the most rapidly aging populations—are in less developed countries.Between 2010 and 2050, the number of older people in less developed countries is projected to increase more than 250 percent, compared with a 71 percent increase in developed countries.

and improvements in longevity. With fewer children entering the population

and people living longer, older people are making up an increasing share of the total population. In more developed countries, fertility fell below the replacement rate of two live births per woman by the 1970s, down from nearly three children per woman around 1950.Even more crucial for population aging, fertility fell with surprising speed in many less developed countries from an average of six children in 1950 to an average of two or three children in 2005. In 2006, fertility was at or below the two-child replacement level in 44 less developedcountries.

increasing the number and proportion of people at very old

ages. The “oldest old” (people aged 85 or older) constitute 8% of world's 65 and over population- 12 percent in more developed countries and 6 percent in less developed countries. In many countries, the oldest old are now the fastest growing part of the total population. On a global level, the 85-and-over population is projected to increase 351 percent between 2010 and 2050, compared to a 188 percent increase for the population aged 65 or older and a 22 percent increase for the population under age 65

early, continues through the reproductive years and lasts into old

age – is essential for the physical and emotional well-being of older persons, and, indeed, all people. Public policies and programmes should additionally address the needs of older impoverished people who cannot afford health care."

Many societies in Western Europe and Japan have aging populations. While the effects on society are complex, there is a concern about the impact on health care demand.

specific interventions to cope with the expected increase in demand

for long-term care in aging societies can be organised under four headings: improve system performance; redesign service delivery; support informal caregivers; and shift demographic parameters.

However, the annual growth in national health spending is not mainly due to increasing demand from aging populations, but rather has been driven by rising incomes, costly new medical technology, a shortage of health care workers and informational asymmetries between providers and patients.

informal) will largely be determined by changes in the absolute

number of people in the oldest age groups coupled with trends in disability rates. Given the increases in life expectancy and the sheer numeric growth of older populations, demographic momentum will likely raise the demand for care. This growth could, however, be alleviated by declines in disability among older people. Further, the narrowing gap between female and male life expectancy reduces widowhood and could mean a higher potential supply of informal care by older spouses. The great opportunity for public health program in the 1st half of the 21st century is to keep older people healthy longer,delaying or avoiding disability and dependence.

objective health worsens. In fact, perceived health improves with age

when objective health is controlled in the equation. This phenomenon is known as the "paradox of aging". This may be a result of social comparison; for instance, the older people get, the more they may consider themselves in better health than their same-aged peers.[208] Elderly people often associate their functional and physical decline with the normal aging process.