America in Transition: An Aging Society, 1984-85 Edition : an Information Paper

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U.S. Government Printing Office, 1985 - 98 pages

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Page 73 - School, those 85 and older have a three-fold greater risk of losing their independence, seven times the chance of entering a nursing home and two-and-a-half times the risk of dying compared to persons 65 to 74 years of age.
Page 17 - Life expectancy—Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining to a person at a particular age and is based on a given set of age-specific death rates, generally the mortality conditions existing in the period mentioned. Life expectancy may be determined by race, sex, or other characteristics using age-specific death rates for the population with that characteristic. See...
Page 26 - Today's older persons tend to remain where they have spent most of their adult lives. For both adults and children, rates of moving decline with increasing age. The highest rate of moving is among adults in their early 20s.
Page 68 - In the United States, three out of four elderly persons die from heart disease, cancer, or stroke. Heart disease was the major cause of death in 1950, and remains so today even though there have been rapid declines in death rates from heart disease since 1968, especially among females. Death rates from cancer continue to rise in comparison to heart disease, especially deaths caused by lung cancer (chart 1).
Page 25 - For the first time, in 1980, a greater number of older persons lived in the suburbs (10.1 million) than in central cities (8.1 million). Older persons are found disproportionately in suburbs which were established before World War II. These older suburbs also have lower average resident income levels, more rental housing, lower home values, and higher population densities.
Page 12 - Between 1984 and 2050, the population aged 85 and over is expected to jump from about 1 percent to over 5 percent of the total population and from 9 percent to 24 percent of the 65-plus population.
Page 80 - PERSONAL HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES PER CAPITA FOR PEOPLE 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER, BY SOURCE OF FUNDS AND TYPE OF SERVICE: 1977...
Page 29 - In retirement, elderly persons lose earnings and become reliant Instead upon social security benefits supplemented with pensions and the assets they have accumulated over their lifetimes With limited potential to improve their income through work, older persons become economically vulnerable to circumstances over which they have no control: the loss of a spouse, deterioration of their health and self-sufficiency, social security and Medicare legislation, and Inflation Compared strictly on the basis...
Page 69 - ... all deaths in this age group.3 Even if cancer were eliminated as a cause of death, the average life span would be extended by less than 2 years because of the prevalence of heart disease. Eliminating deaths due to heart disease, on the other hand, would add an average of 5 years to life expectancy at age 65, and would lead to a sharp increase in the proportion of older persons in the total population.4 2 This entire section is from Aging America: Trends and Projections, 1987-88 edition. 3 National...

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