10.10: Elder Health
Certain health issues become more and more important to us as we age. As discussed earlier, older adults are at a higher risk of falls, and most Americans have one or more chronic conditions by age 65 (Boersma et al., 2020). With the advancing age of the Baby Boomer generation, some predictions estimate that the number of adults over 80 will more than double by the year 2050, and the majority of those over the age of 50 will be living with at least one chronic condition (Ansah & Chiu, 2023). Yet there is controversy about whether chronic conditions should just be expected as a function of aging and the “natural” breakdown of the human body, or whether other factors like environment and behaviors can be leveraged to achieve better health and longevity for aging populations. Since we covered chronic diseases elsewhere, we will focus on two other pressing concerns for older adults: the risk of falls, and dementia - including Alzheimer's disease.