Our Aging Population
In the year 1900, only about 4% of the people in the United States were over 65 years old. In the year 2000, that figure was up to nearly 13%. By the year 2030, it is estimated that more than 20% of the U.S. population will be over the age of 65.
The increase in the nation’s elderly population is a good sign that our overall health is improving. However, now that more and more people are living to old age, age-related diseases that our ancestors rarely lived to see are also more common. One of the most devastating is Alzheimer’s disease, in which the nerve cells in the brain clump into tangled, knotty plaques that interfere with memory, thought, and ultimately, even movement. The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease increases dramatically between the ages of 50 and 80. About 4.5 million Americans had Alzheimer’s disease in the year 2000. By 2050, that number is expected to be somewhere between 11 and 16 million.
Beyond specific diseases that are associated with aging, older people tend to need more frequent and expensive medical care than younger people do. When people get very old, they may become physically weak and need assistance with their day-to-day living. Over the next few decades, the average age of the population will get older, since the birthrate has leveled off and will probably remain steady in the years to come. As this happens, we will certainly face serious challenges in caring for the needs of our growing elderly population.
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