2 The Demography of Aging Challenges Opportunities What is Gerontology o Definition of Gerontology o Relatively new discipline Interdisciplinary scientific study of aging and the aging process Due to people previously in 1800 lived only up to 40 years old scientists needed to wait for older adults o Definition of Geriatrics Study of the diseases of the elderly How old is OLD Older Adults o Young Old 55 85 years old o Oldest Old 85 and older o Centenarians 100 years old and over The Meaning of Age o How old do you feel today o Chronological Age Calendar age ex 22 o Perceived Age Age you think of yourself as ex 18 or 49 o Biological Age Functioning of vital systems EX Biological functions o Psychological Age Functioning of Psychological Abilities EX Are you doing what we expect at that age Limits of the Human Life Span o Are there limits to the human lifespan Current human lifespan is about 120 years Believed by some scientist to be the limit of the human life span Jeanne Calment o From France was one of the only two human beings known to have lived to age 120 Calmen is shown on her 122th birthday in o How old is the oldest living person Misao Okawa 117 years old from Japan February 1997 Increased Life Expectancy Due to o Change in medicine Surgeries Preventative Medicine Vaccines Chemo Radiation MRI X Rays o Changes in Technology Reduction in Acute Disease Medical and Public Health Advances Reduction in infant mortality Reduction in female mortality at childbirth Treatment advances in Chronic Disease Medical and Lifestyle Life Expectancy o The number of years that will probably be lived by the average person born in a given year o Average life expectancy is about 78 years Women Men about 80 years about 75 years Due to o Taking more risky behaviors o More stress through life to provide for family o Less doctor visits o Prone to Heart Disease o One less chromosome them women o Related to Gender Genetics Lifestyle Exercise diet Life Expectancy World Map Crash Course in Demography o Population Aging Terms for shifts in the age distribution of the population toward older ages o Cohort Group of people born in the same year 1992 o Why do you care Population changes affects Families Social Policy Economics Well being o Change from Pyramid to Rectangle 2000 TRIANGLE 2025 RECTANGLE The population of those 85 will quadruple in size to nearly Population Trends in the U S o 1900 4 1 of all Americans were 65 years old o 2000 Figure grew from 4 1 to 12 8 o By 2030 o By 2040 20 of Americans will be over 65 14 000 000 million Changes in Age Structure of U S related to o 1 Increase in average life expectancy o 2 Change in immigration patterns o 3 Change in fertility patterns across cohorts Ethnic and Racial Variations 2050 o Elderly population of Non Hispanic Whites will decrease to 58 Hispanic Americans will increase to 18 African Americans will increase to 15 Asian Americans will increase to 9 o Entire population much more ethically diverse in 2050 Much more ethically diversity More people over the age of 85 Gender Variations o Increase in Female life expectancy o The majority of older women are single Single women highest poverty rate among the ages More likely to be institutionalized compared to men The Baby Boomers o Born 1946 1964 of the U S population o Blamed for our nation s problems and successes o Profound effects on society from childhood through adulthood o Higher level of education than previous cohorts o Lived during Vietnam War Civil Rights Women s Rights o Experienced social changes Civil Rights Movement Sexual Revolution o Characterized by heterogeneity o Leading edge vs trailing edge o Changes in work and family Implications for population aging Implications of Population Aging o What are some of the potential implications of population aging o Challenges Changes in Physical environment Aging the Environment o Structural changes in society Transportation Consumer patterns Marketing Housing Technology o Marketing to the Baby Boomers Financial services Healthcare Travel Hospitality Retirement Housing Family structure Challenge Changing Family Structure Fewer children fewer caregivers Changes in divorced population Childlessness Majority of oldest old are FEMALE Work Retirement Challenge Shifts in Work Retirement Increase in the years spent retired Will Baby Boomers remain in the workforce longer o Probably will work longer Due to Credit card debt pay off children s college might like their job Increases in retirement age o Retraining Change in technology and need to catch up to stay in workforce Social Insurance Programs Opportunity Evolving Social Insurance Systems Raising age eligible for Social Security o U S Ages 62 65 Increasing to 67 maybe 70 for us Strain on social programs for older adults Dependency ratio o Portion of employed to dependent portions of o 2025 more people retired than in the labor population force Healthcare Challenge Growing Burden of Chronic Disease Chronic Diseases o Heart Disease o Cancer o Diabetes o Alzheimer s Disease Age 85 Oldest Old o Multiple chronic conditions High disability rates o 1 5 of total population Use 16 1 of Medicare o Use most long term care services o Predicted increase in long term care services in o Compression of morbidity Decrease as life expectancy increases o Expansion of morbidity Increase as life expectancy increase o Evidence Supports Compression of Morbidity the future Morbidity Opportunity New Roles for Older Adults o Productive Aging o Older Adults have what everyone else lacks TIMEEEE o The Aging Opportunity Match between older adults time and society s needs help needed in society