Old age


Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People of old age are called old people, old-timers, the elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors, or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological stage: the chronological age denoted as "old age" varies culturally and historically. Some disciplines and domains focus on the aging and the aged, such as the organic processes of aging, medical studies of the aging process, diseases that afflict older adults, technology to support the aging society, and leisure and sport activities adapted to older people.
Old people often have limited regenerative abilities and are more susceptible to illness and injury than younger adults. They face social problems related to retirement, loneliness, and ageism.
In the United States, a 2023 national poll found that about 37% of older adults aged 50 to 80 experienced loneliness, and 34% reported feeling socially isolated. In response to loneliness among older adults, many nonprofit organizations in North America and the United Kingdom provide companionship through volunteer home visits, phone calls, letters, group activities, and other programs. See also :Category:Gerontology organizations and :Category:Charities for the elderly.
In 2011, the United Nations proposed a human-rights convention to protect old people.

History

European

The history of old age in the History of Europe has been characterized by several prominent features across the last 3000 years:
  • Consistent age threshold: The chronological threshold for old age has remained consistent throughout European history, typically ranging from 60 to 70 years. This definition has persisted from antiquity to modern times, despite overwhelming social and economic changes.
  • Legal and cultural recognition: Old age was always recognized in legal and cultural contexts. The laws often included precise age-based exclusions or provisions for the elderly. Cultural representations, such as the division of the life cycle into age-defined stages, were common and often adapted from earlier Greek, Roman, and Egyptian traditions.
  • Varied experiences: Old age was a highly diverse experience, encompassing individuals from different classes and socioeconomic backgrounds, political status, levels of fitness, and degrees of power.
  • Changing status: The status of the elderly has varied across different periods. For instance, during the early Middle Ages, old age gained a more favorable status, particularly for older men, based on the moral worth associated with this life stage and Christian attitudes.

    Definitions

Current definitions of old age include official definitions, sub-group definitions, and four dimensions as follows.

Official definitions

Most developed Western countries set the retirement age around the age of 65; this is also generally considered to mark the transition from middle to old age. Reaching this age is commonly a requirement to become eligible for senior social programs.
There is no universal official definition of old age. The United Nations considers old age to be 60 years or older. In contrast, a 2001 joint report by the U.S. National Institute on Aging and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa set the beginning of old age in Sub-Saharan Africa at 50. This lower threshold stems primarily from a different way of thinking about old age in developing nations. Unlike in the developed world, where chronological age determines retirement, societies in developing countries determine old age according to a person's ability to make active contributions to society. This number is also significantly affected by lower life expectancy throughout the developing world. Dating back to the Middle Ages and prior, what European societies considered old age varied depending on the context, but legislative and other texts often give the state of being elderly as being 60 years or more of age.

Sub-group definitions

have recognized that people experience very different conditions as they approach old age. In developed countries, many people in their later 60s and 70s are still fit, active, and able to care for themselves. After age 80, they generally become increasingly frail, a condition marked by serious mental and physical debilitation. However, some are "superagers", retaining their vitality and cognitive performance much longer.
Therefore, rather than lumping together all people who have been defined as old, some gerontologists have recognized the diversity of old age by defining sub-groups. One study distinguishes the young-old, the middle-old, and the very old. Another study's sub-grouping is young-old, middle-old, and oldest-old. A third sub-grouping is young-old, old, and old-old. Describing sub-groups in the 65+ population enables a more accurate portrayal of significant life changes.
Two British scholars, Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard, have added a "fourth age" sub-group. In British English, the "third age" is "the period in life of active retirement, following middle age". Higgs and Gilleard describe the fourth age as "an arena of inactive, unhealthy, unproductive, and ultimately unsuccessful ageing".

Dimensions

Key Concepts in Social Gerontology lists four dimensions: chronological, biological, psychological, and social. Wattis and Curran add a fifth dimension: developmental. Chronological age may differ considerably from a person's functional age. The distinguishing marks of old age normally occur in all five senses at different times and at different rates for different people. In addition to chronological age, people can be considered old because of the other dimensions of old age. For example, people may be considered old when they become grandparents or when they begin to do less or different work in retirement.

Senior citizen

Senior citizen is a common euphemism for an old person used in American English, and sometimes in British English. It implies that the person being referred to is retired. This in turn usually implies that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country. Synonyms include old age pensioner or pensioner in British English, and retiree and senior in American English. Some dictionaries describe widespread use of "senior citizen" for people over the age of 65.
When defined in a legal context, senior citizen is often used for legal or policy-related reasons in determining who is eligible for certain benefits available to the age group.
It is used in general usage instead of traditional terms such as "old person", "old-age pensioner", or "elderly" as a courtesy and to signify continuing relevance of and respect for this population group as "citizens" of society, of senior "rank".
The term was apparently coined in 1938 during a political campaign. Famed caricaturist Al Hirschfeld claimed on several occasions that his father Isaac Hirschfeld invented the term "senior citizen". It has come into widespread use in recent decades in legislation, commerce, and common speech. Especially in less formal contexts, it is often abbreviated as "senior", which is also used as an adjective.

Age qualifications

The age of 65 has long been considered the benchmark for senior citizenship in numerous countries. This convention originated from Chancellor Otto von Bismarck's introduction of the pension system in Germany during the late 19th century. Bismarck's legislation set the retirement age at 70, with 65 as the age at which individuals could start receiving a pension. This age standard gradually gained acceptance in other nations and has since become deeply entrenched in public consciousness.
The age which qualifies for senior citizen status varies widely. In governmental contexts, it is usually associated with an age at which pensions or medical benefits for the elderly become available. In commercial contexts, where it may serve as a marketing device to attract customers, the age is often significantly lower.
In commerce, some businesses offer customers of a certain age a "senior discount". The age at which these discounts are available varies from 55, 60, 62 or 65 upwards, and other criteria may also apply. Sometimes a special "senior discount card" or other proof of age needs to be produced to show entitlement.
In the United States, the standard retirement age is currently 66. The AARP allows couples in which one spouse has reached the age of 50 to join, regardless of the age of the other spouse.
In Canada, the Old Age Security pension is available at 65, and the Canada Pension Plan as early as age 60.

Signs

The distinguishing characteristics of old age are both physical and mental. The marks of old age are so unlike the marks of middle age that legal scholar Richard Posner suggests that, as an individual transitions into old age, that person can be thought of as different people "time-sharing" the same identity.
These marks do not occur at the same chronological age for everyone. Also, they occur at different rates and order for different people. Marks of old age can easily vary between people of the same chronological age.
A basic mark of old age that affects both body and mind is "slowness of behavior". The term describes a correlation between advancing age and slowness of reaction and physical and mental task performance. However, studies from Buffalo University and Northwestern University have shown that the elderly are a happier age group than their younger counterparts.

Physical

Physical marks of old age include the following:
  • Bone and joint problems: Old bones are marked by "thinning and shrinkage". This might result in a loss of height, a stooping posture in many people, and a greater susceptibility to bone and joint diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
  • Chronic diseases: Some older people have at least one chronic condition and many have multiple conditions. In 2007–2009, the most frequently occurring conditions among older people in the United States were uncontrolled hypertension, arthritis, and heart disease.
  • Chronic mucus hypersecretion, defined as "coughing and bringing up sputum", is a common respiratory symptom in elderly people.
  • Dental problems: Older people may have less saliva and reduced ability to maintain oral hygiene, consequently increasing the chance of tooth decay and infection.
  • Digestive system issues: About 40% of the time, old age is marked by digestive disorders such as difficulty in swallowing, inability to eat enough and to absorb nutrition, constipation and bleeding.
  • Essential tremor : An uncontrollable shaking in a part of the upper body. It is more common in the elderly and symptoms worsen with age.
  • Eyesight deterioration: Presbyopia can occur by age 50 and it hinders reading, especially of small print in low lighting. The speed with which an individual reads and the ability to locate objects may also be impaired. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.
  • Falls: Old age increases the risk of injury from falls. Every year, about a third of those 65 years old and more than half of those 80 years old fall. Falls are the leading cause of injury and death for old people.
  • Gait change: Some aspects of gait normally change with old age. Speed slows after age 70. Time with both feet on the ground increases. Old people sometimes move as if they were walking carefully on ice.
  • Hair usually turns gray and may become thinner. About age 50, about 50% of Europeans have 50% grey hair. Many men are affected by balding.
  • Hearing loss: By age 75, 48% of men and 37% of women have lost at least some significant hearing. Of the 26.7 million people over age 50 with a hearing impairment, one seventh use hearing aids. In the 70–79 age range, partial hearing loss affecting communication rises to 65%, mostly in low-income men.
  • The heart's left ventricular mass increases with age. Hearts can become less efficient in old age, lessening stamina. Atherosclerosis can constrict blood flow.
  • Immune-function loss.
  • Lungs may expand less efficiently, providing less oxygen.
  • Mobility impairment or loss: "Impairment in mobility affects 14% of those between 65 and 74, half of those over 85." Loss of mobility is common in old people and has serious "social, psychological, and physical consequences".
  • Pain: 25% of seniors have chronic pain, increasing with age, up to 80% of those in nursing homes. Most pains are rheumatological, musculoskeletal-related, or malignant.
  • Decreases in sexual drive in both men and women. Increasing research on sexual behavior and desires in later life is challenging the "asexual" image of older adults. People aged 75–102 do experience sensuality and sexual pleasure. Sexual attitudes and identity are established in early adulthood and change little. Sexuality remains important throughout life, and the sexual expression of "typical, healthy older persons is a relatively neglected topic of research". Other known sexual behaviors in older age groups include sexual thoughts, fantasies, and dreams; masturbation; oral sex; and vaginal and anal intercourse.
  • Skin loses elasticity and gets drier and more lined and wrinkled.
  • Wounds take longer to heal and are likelier to leave permanent scars.
  • Trouble sleeping and daytime sleepiness affect more than half of seniors. In a study of 9,000 people with a mean age of 74, only 12% reported no sleep complaints. By age 65, deep sleep drops to about 5% of sleep time.
  • Taste buds diminish by up to half by the age of 80. Food becomes less appealing and nutrition can suffer.
  • Over the age of 85, thirst perception decreases, so that 41% of the elderly do not drink enough.
  • Urinary incontinence is often found in old age.
  • Vocal cords weaken and vibrate more slowly. This results in a weakened, breathy voice, "old person's voice".