One of the human’s greatest achievements is the vast improvement in healthcare that has increased peoples’ lifespans. However, rising health and social care costs due to an aging global population are considered a danger to global economic growth in the twenty-first century. Old age is associated with the weakening of the body, making it susceptible to different diseases. Approximately 23% of the total global disease burden is linked to disorders affecting people beyond the age of 50 years (Chang et al., 2019). The leading contributors to disease burden in old age include heart problems, malignant neoplasms, mental diseases, and chronic respiratory diseases. Deaths from chronic diseases occur at a higher proportion in persons aged over 59 years in comparison with the rest of the population (Chang et al., 2019). Although there is slight variation in the overall rank order when accounting for differences in regional income, infectious and parasitic diseases contribute more heavily to mortality in low- and middle-income regions., Neurological and mental disorders and musculoskeletal problems contribute to the disease burden more in high-income regions. Low- and middle-income areas have a greater illness burden per elderly residents.
The disease burden is exacerbated by social and economic disparities affecting healthcare access. Age discrimination should be addressed, as well as challenges caused by multimorbidity. The Healthcare sector should be prepared to meet the healthcare needs of the old. Ageist attitudes, as well as beliefs that the old must experience ill health, are widespread (Xie, 2018). Such perceptions result in neglect of the old at the hands of family and healthcare professionals, making it difficult for them to have a healthy life.
Table 1: Contributors to disease disability-adjusted life years (Xie, 2018)
References
Chang, A. Y., Skirbekk, V. F., Tyrovolas, S., Kassebaum, N. J., & Dieleman, J. L. (2019). Measuring population ageing: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet Public Health, 4(3), e159-e167. Web.
Xie, Y., Bowe, B., Mokdad, A. H., Xian, H., Yan, Y., Li, T. & Al-Aly, Z. (2018). Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease study highlights the global, regional, and national trends of chronic kidney disease epidemiology from 1990 to 2016. Kidney international, 94(3), 567-581. Web.