Healthy aging should become a global priority
This year, WHO's annual World Health Day will be dedicated to healthy aging. The official start of the events is scheduled for April 4, while the World Health Day itself will be celebrated on April 7. In this regard, The Lancet magazine published a thematic letter by Dr. Peter Lloyd-Sherlock from the University of East Anglia with co-authors (Population aging and health), which outlines the need to change the outdated attitude to aging and shift attention to work with non-communicable diseases of elderly people age, which make up the most significant part of the incidence in this age group.
According to the authors, elderly people are still given generic generic descriptions, which distorts public opinion and affects the results of political debates. For example, when using economic relative indicators of the number of dependents, one of the most commonly used criteria for aging, it is assumed that all people over the age of 65 are useless from an economic point of view. Similarly, the use of a life expectancy indicator adjusted for capacity to assess the health status of a population invariably presents elderly people as a social and economic burden for society. However, many older people continue to make a significant contribution to the social, economic and cultural life of society, and this situation can still be improved by positively influencing their health and functional status. Moreover, the authors emphasize that the amount of costs for treatment and medical care is more associated with the remaining life span of a person than with chronological age. In reality, very often much more money is spent on the treatment of young people than on the treatment of elderly people with the same diseases.
Noting the existence of variations in the functional status of elderly people both between the population of different countries and within a single country, the authors argue that significant improvements in this status can be achieved with relatively low-cost and simple measures, such as effective control of hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, as well as the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, in particular features of regular physical activity. Unfortunately, in many countries, such measures are not available to a significant part of the adult population. The inability of national Governments and international organizations to set priorities correctly is the reason for the missed opportunity for an unprecedented reduction in mortality, morbidity and disability. Despite the fact that more attention has been paid to the treatment of non-communicable diseases in recent years, in many low- and middle-income countries, the fight against infectious diseases and the protection of maternal and child health continue to be the focus of government attention.
In conclusion, the authors state that if we do not correct the existing political models and the outdated public opinion underlying them, the aging of the population may result in a crisis in the areas of medical care and social security.
An editorial on the same topic in The Lancet (Aging well: a global priority) says that, according to statistical estimates, in five years the number of people over the age of 65 will exceed the number of children under 5 for the first time in the history of mankind.
The same article says that this year, as part of World Health Day, WHO plans to argue for the widespread introduction of an approach that ensures healthy and active aging. This implies promoting good health at any age, preventing the development of chronic diseases, early diagnosis of chronic diseases in order to minimize their consequences, creating a physical and social environment conducive to maintaining the good health of older people and their participation in public life, as well as changing society's attitude to aging.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Medicalexpress: Changing old attitudes to aging and making aging well a global priority.
04.04.2012