Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Gente Saludable

IDB

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Aging and Dependency
    • Courses and Seminars
    • Digital Transformation
    • Public health and nutrition
    • Healthy Lifestyle
    • Health services
    • Health Spending and Financing
    • Women’s and Children’s Health
  • authors
  • English
    • Spanish
    • Portuguese

If You Want to Live A Hundred Years…

September 24, 2018 por Autor invitado Leave a Comment


…Sang the famous Spanish singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina in 1992, “do not try the liqueurs of pleasure, build muscles from five to six, and watch your cholesterol.” Beyond his ironic lyrics about the exaggerated obsession with finding the elixir to prolong life, Sabina’s song alluded to a new reality: the increase in life expectancy and the implications that entails.

For the first time in history, most people can aspire to live 60 years or more. This reality is accompanied by another that is becoming more worrisome every day: the population is aging at a rapid pace as a result of this longer life expectancy and the significant declines in fertility rates. One does not need to review the World Health Organization (WHO)‘s report on aging to verify this, suffice it to look around us.

Overview of Aging

To put it in context, the population over 60 years old today accounts for:

  • One quarter of the population in Europe
  • A fifth of the population in the United States
  • 16 percent of the population in East Asia
  • 11 percent of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean.

While in the latter region the figures are still not high enough to speak of an aging population, the unprecedented growth in the number of older adults in these countries is setting off alarms.

Consider the following:

  • In 2030 the population over 60 years old in Latin America and the Caribbean will represent 17 percent of the total
  • By 2050 it is estimated that that share will reach 25 percent.

In other words, it will only take 33 years for the population in Latin America and the Caribbean to increase from 11 to 25 percent of the total. It took Europe 65 years to reach the same demographic change.

Increased Dependency…

Aging implies a greater risk of contracting certain diseases, and reduced physical and mental capacity, which may result in the need to receive external help to perform daily functions. The older you are, the more likely you are to be dependent on others for daily care. A report recently published by the IDB, “Panorama on Aging and Long-term Care,” reports that in Latin America and the Caribbean almost 8 million persons over 60 are dependent. This figure represents 11 percent of the region’s older population, which will experience a rapid escalation if the pace of the current demographic transition continues.

A person is in a situation of dependency when he or she is not able to independently carry out at least one activity of daily living such as eating, washing, bathing, or dressing. Along with these actions necessary for an independent life, other day-to-day instrumental activities that involve greater complexity and, in general, some interaction with the environment, are also taken into consideration. While these latter activities are important for a full and independent life, they are not considered essential to survive. Examples include cooking, doing housework, handling money, taking medications, or talking on the phone.

In general, given their greater complexity, the latter activities are the first to deteriorate. For example, older adults are expected to lose their ability to dress before they lose their ability to eat.

…And It Is Getting Worse

The intensity of dependency is also increasing. The older the age, the greater the number of activities for which a person may need help. In many Latin American and Caribbean countries, the percentage of people facing difficulties in three or more of these activities increases exponentially after the age of 80.

Another factor highlighted in the IDB report is gender vulnerability in old age: in all countries, the intensity of dependency is greater among women. In addition, there are remarkable differences between countries: while Costa Rica, Chile, and Mexico stand out for their high proportion of dependence among older adults, in Uruguay and Paraguay that proportion is relatively low.

How to Digest These Trends?

Assuming that dependency rates remain constant in each age group, the demographic evolution of Latin America and the Caribbean will cause the number of dependents to triple by 2050, exceeding 26 million people. This reality will bring with it a growing demand for both health services and care that will undoubtedly generate pressures on governments, which in most cases are poorly prepared. Therefore, governments must anticipate the scenario that is coming. We know that aging is a matter of time, so there is no time to waste.

Share your concerns about aging and dependency in Latin America and the Caribbean in the comments section or at @BIDgente on Twitter.

Lee este artículo en español.


Filed Under: Aging and Dependency, Health services Tagged With: América Latina, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, BID, políticas públicas, Salud

Autor invitado

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Health

Latin American and Caribbean countries face multiple challenges to provide quality healthcare for their citizens. In this blog, IDB Specialists and international experts discuss current health issues and hope to build a dynamic dialogue through your comments.

Similar Posts

  • What is the Overview of Aging and Dependency in the Region?
  • What About the Rights of the Elderly?
  • What can Korea Teach us About Long-Term Care Systems?
  • We Live Longer But Are Less Healthy: How Do We Face It?
  • Health Challenges Facing an Aging Population

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Derechos de autor © 2023 · Magazine Pro en Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser.
To learn more about cookies, click here
X
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT