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Estimating the changing population of the 'oldest old'
- Authors:
- DINI Ercilia, GOLDRING Shayla
- Journal article citation:
- Population Trends, 132, Summer 2008, pp.8-16.
- Publisher:
- Office for National Statistics
The population of England and Wales is becoming older. This poses an increasing demand for detailed data on the size and trends of the population at the oldest ages. Using the recently released Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates of the population aged 90 and over in England and Wales, this article shows trends in the population of the oldest old and demographic causes of the rapid increase in centenarians during the twentieth century. It also presents further validation of the ONS estimates of the oldest old with estimates from other data sources.
The demographic characteristics of the oldest old in the United Kingdom
- Author:
- TOMASSINI Cecilia
- Journal article citation:
- Population Trends, 120, Summer 2005, pp.15-22.
- Publisher:
- Office for National Statistics
Those aged 85 and over are the fastest growing age group in the population of many developed countries. This article draws together demographic characteristics of people aged 85 and over from various different national data sources to provided and up-to-date picture of the oldest old.
Valuation of life in old and very old age: the role of sociodemographic, social, and health resources for positive adaptation
- Authors:
- JOPP Daniela, ROTT Christoph, OSWALD Frank
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 48(5), October 2008, pp.646-658.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Valuation of life (VOL) represents a construct capturing active attachment to life. As old and very old individuals may differ in terms of endorsement and with respect to what makes a life worth living, the present study investigated whether mean levels and the explanatory value of sociodemographic, social, and health predictors for VOL differ between young-old and old-old individuals. A sample of 356 community-dwelling individuals aged 65 to 94 years in a district of Germany were presented with Lawton's Positive Valuation of Life Scale and established measures to assess predictors of VOL. Mean levels of VOL decreased from the third to the fourth age. Zero-order correlations showed significant relations between sociodemographic (i.e., age, gender, marital status, education), social (i.e., social contacts, phone calls, volunteering, contact with youth), and health (i.e., mobility, vision, hearing, activity restrictions, activity of daily living [ADL], instrumental ADL [IADL]) indicators. Regression analyses for the domain-specific predictors reduced the number of significant predictors to age, education, grandchildren, vision, and IADLs. When combining all sets of predictors, health explained twice as much variance in VOL compared to social indicators; sociodemographic indicators including age made no independent contribution. Separate analysis for young-old and old-old participants revealed age-differential prediction patterns. For the young-old, the role of health factors was especially strong, whereas specific social factors became more important in the old-old group. Age-differential predictive values of the resources seem to indicate positive adaptation to aging. Taking into account such prediction patterns may help to design specific interventions for young-old and old-old individuals.
Service delivery and research considerations for the 85 and + population
- Author:
- WANG Donna
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 43(1), 2004, pp.5-17.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Recognizing distinctions among elderly age groups can be difficult however needed, as more and more people are living longer. Research typically categorizes persons aged 60 and over into one age group. Government agencies such as the Census Bureau and even the Administration on Aging still generate reports placing elderly persons in one age group, 65 and above. With ever-increasing life expectancy, a range as wide as 55 years or more could be placed in one category, virtually ignoring vast differences and/or needs. Working with such a diverse population will prove to be a challenge for gerontological social work. The literature indicates general increased dependence with age, but there has been little investigation as to why, or if there are correlations between specific variables. A review of the literature reveals that most of what is known about the 85+ age group is a result of larger studies of the aging population. The purpose of this article is to specify the differences between elderly age groups, primarily the 85+ population from younger age groups, educate gerontological social workers to the uniqueness of the 85+ population, recommend extensive research in order to provide appropriate services, and to suggest proactive service delivery. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
Demography and gerontology: mortality trends among the oldest old
- Author:
- GRUNDY Emily
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 17(6), November 1997, pp.713-725.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article provides a brief introduction to demography and population science and the newly emerging subfield of the demography of ageing. Goes on to explore the links with gerontology.
Caring into later life: the growing pressures on older carers
- Authors:
- CARERS UK, AGE UK
- Publisher:
- Carers UK
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 28
- Place of publication:
- London
Draws together and analyses evidence from national data sources and older carers themselves to set out key facts about older carers and identify what steps should be taken to better support them. Information is provided on the numbers of older carers, older carers demographics, the hours and type of support older carers provide, health and wellbeing, and access to NHS and social care services. Quotations from older carers are also included, drawn from Carers UK’s State of Caring Survey 2014. The report found that there are 1.2 million carers aged 65 and over in England, with a growing number of older carers aged over 85 years. Of those carers over 85 years: over half are caring for 50 or more hours each week; 59% are men (whereas only 42% of all carers are men); and 48% of carers aged 85 and over who are providing 20 or more hours of care a week say that they feel anxious or depressed. The report makes a number of recommendations, including: using the new duties of the Care Act to develop advice and information that is accessible to older carers; involving older carers in co-producing and commissioning support services; the provision of good quality care services to support carers who wish to continue working, and for national and local government to address older carers' emotional health and wellbeing. Data sources used for the report include Carers UK’s State of Caring Survey 2014, the 2001 and 2011 Census, and GP Patient Survey. (Edited publisher abstract)
Prevalence and correlates of depression in Chinese oldest-old
- Authors:
- CHOU Kee-Lee, CHI Iris
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(1), January 2005, pp.41-50.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
In Hong Kong, the aged population will be increased rapidly in the coming three decades and the oldest-old (aged 80 and above) is the fastest growing age group. In this paper, we examined the prevalence rate and the correlates of depression for the oldest-old. This article analyzes cross-sectional data collected from a representative community sample of 1 903 Chinese elderly people aged 60 or above in Hong Kong. Respondents were interviewed in face-to-face format with structural questionnaire. Using 8 as the cut-off point for the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, we found that the prevalence rate was greater for the oldest-old (31.1% ± 9.7%) than for the young-old (aged between 60 and 69; 19.1% ± 2.8%) and the old-old (aged 70 and 79; 22.4% ± 4.2%) groups. Logistic regression analyses revealed that financial strain, poor self-rated health, loneliness, and heart disease were significantly and positively related to depression in the oldest-old after gender, marital status, education, living arrangement, functional disability, sensory impairment, cognitive ability, and the presence of eight medical conditions were controlled. Interestingly, financial strain, self-rated health, and loneliness were found to be significant correlates of depression in the young-old and the old-old groups, too. Depression is a serious problem for the oldest-old but a number of correlates are consistently identified in the oldest-old, as well as the two other age groups in the elderly population. Therefore, aged care service practitioners must take these correlates into consideration in their prevention and treatment for depression for all different age groups in the aged.
The quality challenge: caring for people with dementia in residential institutions in Europe; summary
- Author:
- ALZHEIMER SCOTLAND - ACTION ON DEMENTIA
- Publisher:
- Alzheimer Scotland
- Publication year:
- 1999
- Pagination:
- 7p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This report explores comparisons of European countries’ provision and quality of residential institutional care for people with dementia, a policy field which has received little comparative research attention. Key policy issues challenging the European Union (EU) countries with ageing populations include finding appropriate ways of paying for and meeting the needs of individuals and their families. Although rates of population ageing vary between countries, the steep increase in the prevalence of dementia with age, linked with increases in the oldest age groups, indicates increasing proportions of people with dementia in all EU countries who are likely, in the final stages of dementia, to need some form of institutional care. By 2020 there could be almost six million people with dementia aged over 65 in the EU. The study found that there is little specific government policy on caring for people with dementia. In spite of advances in recent years, institutional care for people with dementia remains an underdeveloped area of policy.
Old age
- Author:
- VINCENT John
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 190p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
The latter decades of the 20th century saw a fundamental change in the age structure of many Western societies. In these societies it is now common for a fifth to a quarter of the population to be retired, for fewer babies to be born than is required to sustain the size of the population and for life expectancy to exceed 80 years old. This volume provides an overview of the key issues arising from this demographic change, asking questions such as: what if any, are the universal characteristics of the ageing experience?; what different ways is it possible to grow old?; and what is unique about old age in the contemporary world? The author also examines issues ranging from the social construction, diversity and identity of old age to areas of social conflict over population, pensions and the medicalisation of old age.
Health and well-being in the young old and oldest old
- Authors:
- SMITH Jacqui, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Issues, 58(4), Winter 2002, pp.715-732.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Most individuals experience a decline in health status during old age. Paradoxically, there are proposals that older adults nevertheless maintain a positive sense of well-being, an indicator of successful aging. Data from the Berlin Aging Study suggest that cumulative health-related chronic life strains set a constraint on the potential of oldest old individuals to experience the positive side of life. Chronic illness and functional impairments (e.g., vision, hearing, mobility, strength) limit well-being especially in very old age.