Do you know that 92% of all seniors have, at least, one chronic health issue while 77% have two?
If you are skeptical about this, stand beside or behind an elderly in drugstore counter and observe the wads of prescription pads he wants to be filled.
I once stood beside a guy behind such a guy who was well into his 70s. And he had prescription pads thick enough to fill a folder. When I asked what were those for, he calmly said, “You name it, I have it.”
Yes, by age 60 and beyond, people’s hair gets thin and gray, the midsection has gone sideways, and their diet includes lots of pills – from blood-thinning aspirin to Zytiga, for cancer.
It’s quite ironic that at a time when you are supposed to enjoy life, do all the things you never had time to do before, i.e., travel, re-invent yourself, engage in a hobby, etc., you are also beset with aging-related health issues that need a full day to discuss with your doctor.
For example, here are the most common of them…
Most Common Health Issues of the Elderly
On a scale of 1 to 10, I may be at 8, health-wise. That’s because I am taking Norten, and both my knees have osteoarthritis. But for a guy at 71, that’s relatively healthy. If your situation is similar to mine, don’t blow your trumpet too soon. Someday you can come face to face with one or a couple of these:
1. Arthritis:
In simplest terms, arthritis is “painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.” However, arthritis is anything but simple. An episode can be moderate to painful and can last for weeks or months.
There are more than 100 types of arthritis, but the most common are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, and gout.
On a day-to-day encounter, when people say they have arthritis, in most cases, what they mean is gout.
Says Marie Bernard, MD, deputy director of the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, “Arthritis is probably the number one condition that people aged 65 or older contend with.”
2. Heart Disease:
Heart disease is a collective term to describe a range of conditions that affect the heart, These conditions include blood vessel disease (coronary artery disease), heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias), and congenital heart defects.
It is often used interchangeably with “cardiovascular disease,” which refers to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, angina (chest pains), or stroke.
The most common among the elderly are heart failure, coronary artery disease, and atrial fibrillation. And it is serious because it kills, and kills silently. In 2014, almost half a million people aged 65 and above died of heart disease, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
3. Cancer:
Cancer is a collective term given to a group of related diseases characterized by an uncontrolled division of some of the body’s cells and spreading into surrounding tissues.
There are more than a hundred types of cancers but the most common among elderly people are breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancers.
The greatest risk factor of cancer is age. In fact, 60% of new cancer cases in the U.S. are among people aged 65 and above. The silver lining, if there is such where cancer is concerned, is that the disease is treatable if detected early.
4. Respiratory Disease:
Respirator disease is a disease that affects the lungs and other parts of the respiratory system, i.e., respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura, and pleural cavity, etc., causing health issues like asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), fibrosis, pneumonia, and lung cancer.
The most common among the elderly are respiratory tract infection, tuberculosis, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and bronchial asthma)
In2014, 124,693 people aged 65 and above, died of respiratory diseases – making it the third most common cause of deaths among the elderly.
5. Alzheimer’s Disease:
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most cases, the first symptoms appear in the mid-60s.
One in three cases of Alzheimer’s disease is preventable, and the risk factors are lack of exercise, smoking, depression and lack of education.
6. Osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis (porous bone) is a disease that reduces bone density making it porous and fragile.
This is a serious health issue among the elderly because of the risk of bone breakage due to falls. Between 2006 and 2016, falls were the leading cause of traumatic brain injury-related deaths among people aged 65 and above.
And what is alarming is that records from the National Osteoporosis Foundation, show that 54 million Americans over the age of 50 have osteoporosis.
7. Diabetes:
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose (blood sugar), is too high.
There are several types of diabetes but most common are Type1 and Type 2. Of the two, the latter is more common.
Type 2 diabetes develops when your body does not make enough insulin or does not make efficient use of it. This type of diabetes can occur at any age but is more common among middle-aged and older people.
Aside from age, the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes are family history, obesity, and lack of physical activity. Other factors also come into play in the development of Type 2 diabetes like high blood pressure and gestational diabetes among women.
Diabetes is an incurable wasting disease. If not properly managed, it can damage a host of body parts like the heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and teeth. It can make your feet rot and eat your nerves.
The horrifying part is that roughly 25% of people aged 65 and above have diabetes.
8. Influenza and Pneumonia:
These respiratory diseases are worth occupying a slot of their own because elderly people are particularly susceptible to them, and they are contagious and deadly.
Influenza, or flu, is common among seniors with chronic diseases. Their symptoms are easy to spot and are easily curable. But if not properly managed, it can lead to long hospital stays and possible more serious complications like pneumonia.
Pneumonia, on the other hand, is an infection of the tiny air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs making it difficult to breathe. Aside from that it also affects the efficiency of the lungs to provide oxygen to the blood.
In most cases, the flu is seasonal but there is no significant determining factor for pneumonia except that age is one of the risk factors.
9. Substance abuse:
Substance abuse is a pattern of harmful use of any substance like alcohol and drugs (legal or illegal), to alter the mood and the problem is growing, and this problem is growing.
It is particularly harmful to the elderly because they are more susceptible to the deteriorating effects of these substances; they have a decreased ability to metabolize drugs or alcohol. Other than addiction, this health issue can lead to frailty, cognitive impairment and other potential adverse effects between the misused substance and the brain.
These days, due to advances in science and medicine, people live longer. And the proliferation of the Internet has provided countless opportunities to make life easier, convenient, enjoyable and memorable. With our without these health issues, people have more options on how to live their lives.
Provided you do your share by keeping a regular visit to your doctor.
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~oOo~
