By Age: 80s
Elderly conditions: Conditions that are common in the elderly include: hearing loss, tinnitus, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, prostrate conditions (esp. BPH), urinary incontinence, shingles, and various others. Common elderly mental conditions include dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Serious conditions include Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, artherosclerosis, various types of cancer (e.g. prostrate cancer), COPD, cerebrovascular disease, and stroke. Vision conditions of the elderly include vision impairment, AMD, cataracts, and glaucoma. Certain conditions that are not well-known as elderly conditions but do occur include depression.
Conditions Uncommon in the Elderly: You would be wrong if you assume that all diseases become more prevalent with age. Numerous diseases are uncommon in the elderly including sexually transmitted diseases, most autoimmune diseases, and common infectious diseases (e.g. the elderly get fewer cases of cold and flu, but they are more dangerous).
Death rate: The annual rate of death in the 80's is 5.751% (1 in 17) for ages 75-84 years and %15.475% (1 in 6) for ages 85+ years.
Top Ten Causes of Death: For ages 75-84 years, the top ten causes of death in USA 1999 were:
- heart disease (32.4%),
- cancer (23.3%),
- cerebrovascular diseases including stroke (8.2%),
- chronic lower respiratory diseases (7.0%),
- diabetes (3.1%),
- influenza and pneumonia (2.7%),
- Alzheimer's (2.3%),
- accidents (1.8%),
- kidney diseases (1.7%),
- septicemia (1.4%), and
- other causes (16.2%) [CDC NVSR 2001].
For ages 85 and over years, the top ten causes of death in USA 1999 were:
- heart disease (39.0%),
- cancer (11.6%),
- cerebrovascular diseases including stroke (10.4%),
- influenza and pneumonia (4.8%),
- chronic lower respiratory diseases (4.2%),
- Alzheimer's (3.9%)
- diabetes (2.0%),
- accidents (1.8%),
- kidney diseases (1.7%),
- septicemia (1.4%) and
- other causes (19.2%) [CDC NVSR 2001].
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