1 These chronic conditions may include hypertension, high cholesterol, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and congestive heart failure. WHO attributes the elderly population’s rapid size increase to a change in the leading cause of death-from infections to chronic noncommunicable diseases-which increased life expectancy. Are we ready for it?Īccording to the Global Health and Aging report presented by the World Health Organization (WHO), “The number of people aged 65 or older is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050, with most of the increase in developing countries.” In addition, by 2050, the number of people 65 years or older is expected to significantly outnumber children younger than 5 years of age (Figure 1 1). With an aging population that continues to grow, our health care system will be changed forever.
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