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The United Nations health agency warned today that as the world population aged 60 or older will jump from some 800 million to 2 billion in the next four decades, soaring levels of chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are poised to become a major global public health challenge.
“By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 60 years and older will outnumber children younger than 5 years,” the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said reporting its findings in a series on health and ageing in the medical journal The Lancet.
And “by 2050, the world’s population aged 60 years and older is expected to total 2 billion, up from 841 million today,” WHO said, noting that 80 percent of these older persons will be living in low-income and middle-income countries.
WHO attributed the increase in longevity, especially in high-income countries, largely to the decline in deaths from cardiovascular disease (stroke and ischaemic heart disease), mainly because of simple, cost-effective strategies to reduce tobacco use and high blood pressure, and improved coverage and effectiveness of health interventions.
However, it said, “although people are living longer, they are not necessarily healthier than before.”
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Copyright & Source: United Nations