Abstract

COMMON MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES WITH ELDERLY: A NARRATIVE REVIEW.

Globally, the elderly population has increased exponentially over the past few decades. It grew from 6%-9% during 1990-2019.The proportion may increase even more in the upcoming future. The burden of the elderly population varies from one country to another. Countries like Japan, Italy, Finland, Portugal, and Greece have more than 20% elderly people aged 65 years or above. On the other hand, most developing countries may face this burden due to declining fertility rates, increased life expectancy, and better health services. The global burden of the elderly population highlights numerous aging concerns, which is a process indicated through positive growth in the elderly proportions of the century's aggregate population. Initially, the aging problems were observed only in developed nations, but soon after, it began in developing countries like India, Pakistan, and China. Aging profoundly affects a country’s economic, political, and social processes. The key challenge for every country is the health concern of the elderly, including chronic and degenerative diseases. It includes a wider range of mental and physical health issues like psychological concerns;-anger, frustration, guilt, lack of confidence, psychiatric disorders;-anxiety, depression, chronic conditions like dementia, delirium, and Alzheimer's, and physical health issues;- cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, diabetes, and shingles. Managing these physical and mental health concerns of the elderly is challenging for everyone worldwide, especially for countries in the third or fourth stage of demographic transition, with low birth and death rates. Therefore, they need to understand the present and future needs of the elderly. The countries need to develop better infrastructure, including specialized services like geriatric care units for the elderly. Additionally, channelizing the current resources via looking into future concerns may reduce the immediate burden. Therefore, the current study is a small attempt to highlight the complex health concerns of the elderly briefly. It also tried to understand the overall impact and health risks of these disorders/ diseases on the elderly. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.23(S2) December,2022;1-11.

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