Aging and Demographics

Age is just a number; people age differently.
Factors influencing aging:
- Body functioning
- Mental acuity
- Social involvement
- Community engagement

Demographic trends: Ways of characterizing a population.
Population aging: Worldwide increase in life expectancies and aging baby boomers.
Median age is climbing globally.
Compression of morbidity:
- Reduced time spent in decline before death due to modern interventions.
- Example: Heart disease management has improved significantly since the 1980s.
- Morbidity relates to disease consequences. The aim is to minimize the impact of disease on quality of life.
Dependent Life Expectancy: Time people live relying on others for basic needs (daily living, transportation, etc.).
Demographics: Characteristics of a population (age, gender, race, economics).

Baby boom: A significant increase of births from 1946-1964.
Born between 1946 and 1964, becoming senior citizens in the early 2000s.
Rising numbers of older adults are not just in the US but also in other countries post-World War II.
Life expectancy significantly increased since 1946.
- In 1900, the life expectancy was 47 years.
- $Reason:$ Lack of antibiotics and childhood immunizations.
- In 2018, life expectancy was 78 years (WHO data).
- Improvements in diabetic and cardiac care, which has lead to dramatic increase.

Population Pyramids display the population by age and gender. The shape has changed over time.
The x-axis represents the number of people (in millions), separated by gender (male = blue, female = pink).
The y-axis represents age, in approximately 5-year increments.
The population pyramid is becoming an outdated term, because it's no longer a pyramid shape.
United States Population Pyramid (2020):
- Significant increase in the 20-34 age range, attributed to immigration.
- A bulge around the 55-59 age range: the baby boomers.
- 65+ is considered older adults according to the U.S. Census.
- 75+: older-old.
- 85+: oldest-old, with a noticeable difference in the proportion of females to males.
- Women statistically live about five years longer than men.
- Small bar represented for those who are 100+ indicating that they are represented but not in large numbers at this point in time.

Public policy implications:
- Resources available
- Targeted resource/health resource allocation to meet the community's needs.
Families:
- Composition of families.
- Demands on families i.e. caring for aging parents.
Communities: Influencing the complexion of our communities.

1900: Life expectancy was 47 years.
2018: Life expectancy was approximately 78 years.
2030: Projected to approach mid-80s.
2020: Dramatic change due to COVID-19, decreasing by 1.5 years in the U.S.
- 74% of the decline attributed to COVID.
- 33% of the decline attributed to drug overdoses, impacting overall averages.
- Non-Hispanic Black people in the U.S. saw a 2.9-year decline, versus 1.2 years for non-Hispanic White people.

Monaco: Has the highest life expectancy at 89 years.
Japan: Ranks highly, likely due to dietary practices.
United States: Ranks 45th, indicating potential for improvement via healthier lifestyles.
Gender: Women tend to live longer.
- Women: 80 years.
- Men: 75 years.
Theories for women living longer:
- Extra X chromosome providing physical robustness.
- Health promotion and risk behaviors (tobacco, alcohol, reckless driving, etc.).
- Emphasis on wellness activities.
- Women more inclined toward more wellness-oriented services and check ups.

Two thirds of people 85 and over are female.
Life expectancy in 2017:
- All races: 78.6 years.
- Non-Hispanic White: 78.8 years.
- Black/African American: 75.3 years.

Increasing diversity due to immigration.
Over 20% of older adults are persons of color.
Increase in people not identifying as heterosexual LGBTI.
Historically, research didn't ask about sexual orientation, assuming heterosexuality or no sexual activity.
Need to understand risk behaviors for screenings (STIs, blood-borne pathogens, etc.).

Below poverty level (65+ group):
- White non-Hispanic: 7%.
- African American: 19.3%.
- Asian: 10.8%.
- Hispanic: 17%.

Working Age Group (18-64) vs Dependency Group (65+).
Fewer employed people per retired person can cause funding issues.
Forces many to work later in life out of financial necessity, affecting health and long-term care options.
Medicare alone isn't enough; supplemental coverage is needed.
Medicare doesn't cover long-term nursing home care for conditions like Alzheimer's.

Negative stereotypes and their impact and should be considered in health care.
Over 50% of people surveyed have ageist attitudes.
Negative messages in marketing for anti-aging products perpetuate stereotypes.
Internalized ageism can affect physical and mental health.
Implies that older adults are unable to make contributions to contribute to home/community.
Self self-fulfilling prophecy.
Thoughts of aging well vs. genetic related risk/considerations.

Addressing the influence to change the physical and mental wellness.
Self-directed ageism connected to lower recovery rates from strokes or heart attacks.
Those with self-directed ageism are less likely to recover from severe disability and more likely to participate in behaviors that put their health at risk.
General massive stroke example and how determination matters.

Connected Ageist attitude with an earlier death.
Mental health connected with lower life expectancy. There have been studies that connect the positive/negative aging mindset with with rate of cognitive ability to decline.
Constant expression of thinking