12 of 58

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 3

of the non-fatal but nonetheless distressing and debilitating health problems associated with age may still be there only to be suffered for longer.

On the other hand, there are many people who are closer to 90 and more in control of their lives and their health than many 30 year olds I know. This perhaps proves something that ought to be obvious that health and quality of life are subject to many variables of which age is just one. It is therefore difficult (and dangerous) to generalise.

Whether or not the quality of our lives and our health remains good into old age there are other implications for society. Some point to the dependency ratio' the ratio of dependents (children and over 65s) to those of working age as a cause for great concern. The next few decades in particular are predicted to see an increasing 'burden' on society as the number of those of working age shrinks proportionally. This has implications for the economy but also for familial responsibility.

Families are already beginning to take on the burden of care as the state begins to show strain. Few want to see their elderly parents or grandparents living out the last decade of their lives in an overcrowded, understaffed nursing home or hospital. This is not to say that there aren't good facilities out there, it's just inevitable that such services will become pressured to breaking point.

The living conditions of many elderly people are also deteriorating as many remain in their own homes living alone and struggling to meet rising living costs and every winter the media highlights the growing problem of fuel poverty. As the shape of families and communities has changed dramatically over recent generations many elderly people no longer have the support and comfort they might otherwise have expected. With their children and grandchildren often living in far away cities leading busy lives older people are always at risk of isolation.

Again, however, we must be wary of generalisations. People are different. Some will manage to be creative, independent, sociable and open to new ideas whatever their age, and I include my 87 year old grandmother here. Others perhaps do not have the same resources and independence. Some will find themselves physically healthy but with rapidly declining mental faculties so that they wander the house every night obsessively checking the locks and believing they are in India and it's 1944. Here I refer to my grandfather, at age 86.

While the statistics point to an ageing

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Elderly people in modern society?
We want to hear your view. Write now!