Many diseases become more common with age
The risk of getting sick increases with age. Multiple illnesses are also the rule.
Therefore, in the case of older people, it is not just about the best treatment for individual diseases. But also about taking into account the life situation and needs.
Older people often suffer from several diseases at the same time.
These are often accompanied by physical or mental limitations, says Chaktty.
The combination of both, in turn, can result in frailty, leading to reduced resilience and an increased risk of disease.
Another problem of multi morbidity is drug therapy. This is because older people often take many different medicines.
However, this also increases the number of undesirable side effects. The old saying “less is more” often applies to older people in particular, according to Health pally.
Medicines can – especially in old age and in the case of chronic illnesses – alleviate everyday suffering.
But not all active ingredients are suitable for older people. Some drugs can trigger special problems in old age and should therefore not be used if possible.
Between dementia and depression
Some neurological and psychiatric disorders become more common with age.
It is estimated that in the US alone there are one million elderly people with dementia (US Society for Neurology).
About 150,000 people suffer from Parkinson’s disease (US Parkinson’s Association).
Depression is also much more common in older people than in young people, hence the choosing of pet by senior is common in the US.
In the US it is estimated that every tenth person over the age of 70 is depressed if the definition is narrower, and every fourth person if the definition is broader, as reported in Healthpally magazine.
Women are affected twice as often as men (Texas Age Study). Depression in old age can have biological roots. But it must also be seen in the context of the social loneliness that many people suffer from in old age.
Also read: Personal Key Features Of Healthy Relationships
Musculoskeletal disorders
Arthrosis changes the articular cartilage and, as a result, the adjacent bones as well.
Around every fourth adult in US has osteoarthritis in at least one joint – and half of the people over the age of 60 (Healthpally Institute, Foundation Orthopedic University Hospital Atlanta).
The disease can affect almost any joint, but most commonly occurs in the hips, knees, shoulders or spine.
Other diseases of the musculoskeletal system, which are more common in old age than in younger years, are rheumatic joint and muscle diseases and osteoporosis.
At least one in 50 women over the age of 50 suffers a fracture every year that is due to osteoporosis (osteology umbrella organization, according to sexpally blog.
Bone fractures as a result of osteoporosis can be prevented if people at risk are identified early and treated appropriately.
The risk of falls in older people can be significantly reduced within a year through targeted programs such as the Bavarian fall prevention program.
This is proven by the results of a study funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
In their follow-up project “Long-term evaluation of the Bavarian fall prevention program in nursing homes (LongFall)” the researchers are investigating whether the risk of falling remains permanently reduced even after participation has ended and how the prevention program can be integrated into everyday life in Bavarian nursing homes.
Cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular diseases also occur not only – but predominantly – in older people.
These include in particular:
coronary heart disease (a “calcification” of the coronary arteries),
cerebrovascular disease (a disease of the blood vessels in the brain)
and peripheral arterial disease (a narrowing of the arteries supplying the legs).
Cardiovascular diseases cause symptoms that can severely limit the quality of life.
For example, those affected cannot climb stairs without feeling pain in their chest. Or they have to interrupt short walks several times because their legs hurt.
However, the consequences of cardiovascular diseases can also be far more dangerous: Four out of ten people in America die of cardiovascular diseases (Federal Statistical Office).
Heart attacks and strokes, in particular, claim many lives every year. Fortunately, with the right measures, these can be prevented, at least in part.
Cancer: Also a disease of old age
Is cancer a disease of old age? Many are not even aware of this. But cancer usually develops as a result of an accumulation of genetic changes. And these develop over years and decades.
Statistically, this can be clearly shown: In people over 60 years of age, the risk of developing one of the ten most common forms of cancer within five years is over 20 percent (Healthpally Institute).
Around 400,000 people in the US are diagnosed with cancer every year. About half of them are over 65 years old.
US Centers for Health Research (UZG)
Fight common diseases better together, that is the goal of the UZG.
To this end, various research locations from all over US have joined forces.
Together, the scientists want to ensure that the research results reach the healthcare system quickly in order to help people.
Cardiovascular diseases, cancer and infections are three of the six major subject areas that are researched in the UZG.
These are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the participating countries.
Infections
The immune system is the human body’s most important weapon against pathogens. But the immune system is also subject to an aging process.
This, along with other causes, makes people more susceptible to infections as they get older.
Vaccination can protect older people from at least the two most dangerous infections – the flu and pneumonia.
The latter is mostly caused by certain bacteria, the pneumococci.
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) of the Healthpally Institute therefore recommends that all people over the age of sixty have an annual vaccination against seasonal flu and at least one vaccination against pneumococci, the causative agent of pneumonia
