Word: agee
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Many of the fears people have about aging are greatly exaggerated. Senility is probably the most dreaded of all debilities, yet only about 15% of those over 65 suffer serious mental impairment. Alzheimer's disease, now considered the scourge of old age, accounts for more than half that total. For much of the remainder, mental impairment from conditions such as heart disease, liver or thyroid trouble and dietary deficiency is either reversible or preventable...
...people 65 and older have at least one chronic condition (top four: arthritis, high blood pressure, hearing impairment, heart disease); about one-third have three or more. To combat their problems, they rely on a battery of over-the-counter and prescription drugs. The majority of people in this age group use more than five medications, and 10% take more than twelve. Interactions among drugs, as well as too much of some drugs, can cause a host of complications, from mental confusion to slowed blood clotting to disturbance of the heart's rhythm...
Depression, often mistaken for senility, or dementia, is by far the single most ignored disorder among the elderly. About 15% of older people suffer from the condition, double the figure for the general population; the elderly have the highest suicide rate of any age group. Drugs account for some of the high incidence of depression. But the old are also more vulnerable because they have suffered more major stresses, including the deaths of spouses or friends, living alone, retirement from a job, serious illness. The classic symptoms of depression -- guilt, hopelessness, sleeplessness, lack of appetite, and suicidal thoughts -- are more...
There are some striking physiological changes that accompany age. Among them...
...immune system starts to decline at around age 30. For instance, white blood cells that fight off invaders, such as viruses and bacteria, lose their effectiveness as a person gets older. The gradual weakening of the immune system makes it harder to stave off illness...