The concept of Elderly presents a relatively recent use, since it has appeared as an alternative to the classics elderly person and old man. Meanwhile, an older adult is that individual who is in the last stage of life, the one that follows after adulthood and that precedes the death of the person. Because it is precisely during this phase that people's bodies and cognitive abilities deteriorate.
Generally, those who are over 70 years of age are classified as older adults.
However, it should be noted that, without a doubt, the improvements that have occurred in terms of quality and life expectancy in many places on the planet have added so that the mortality rate of this population decreased and accompanying this the amount of years, to 70, to classify this population group.
For example, it is common that today we meet many people of this age who have an extremely active life in every sense: they work, play sports, travel, study, among other activities that younger individuals normally perform.
But it is also worth mentioning that there is a reverse side and for some people this stage of life is certainly complex and difficult to cope with, especially in those cases in which the body begins to deteriorate. Because in this situation the individual cannot work, their social activity decreases and then they begin to experience super negative states such as exclusion and postponement.
In those developed countries, this population group has retirement and pension, in appropriate cases, which allows them to receive a monetary income if they can no longer or do not wish to work anymore.
As we mentioned above, in this phase of life health suffers notably, while there are many diseases and conditions especially associated with this moment, such as: Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and cataracts, among other.
In medicine there are two disciplines that deal scientifically with this stage of life: geriatrics, which addresses the prevention and rehabilitation of typical diseases, and the gerontology , for its part, deals with those psychological, social, economic and demographic aspects that concern these individuals.
There is one day a year in which the elderly are honored throughout the world: October 1st.
