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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The health of the aged in India
— emerging problems | | Author(s) | A Sathiya Susuman |
| Journal title | Generations Review, vol 15, no 4, October 2005 |
| Pages | pp 18-25 |
| Source | (Editorial e-mail address) gr@ageing.ox.ac.uk |
| Keywords | Health [elderly] ; Ill health ; Demography ; India. |
| Annotation | Because of declining fertility and mortality, the proportion of older people in the Indian population has risen. Although the rise has been modest - as shown by an increase in the population aged 60+ from 5.5% to 7% between 1951 and 1995 - by the latter date, India's experience with 65 million people of this age is unusual. This paper employs data on people aged 65+ drawn from the National Sample Survey, Sample Registration System and Census of India, subdividing analysis into three age groups, 60-64, 65-69, and 70+. It is shown that gender is a very important variable that influences quality of life at all ages. Of the population aged 70+, more than 50% suffer from one or more chronic conditions. Lack of social support, the break up of the joint family system and changing lifestyles all aggravate health and nutritional problems in the oldest age group. While older people in India may have reasonable access to family care, they are inadequately covered by economic and health security. This article was also subsequently published in BOLD: quarterly journal of the International Institute on Ageing (United Nations - Malta) in August 2006 (vol 16, no 4, pp 17-27). (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-051122204 A |
| Classmark | CC: CH: S8: 7FA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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