The study’s authors warn that the growing rate of multiple chronic health conditions (multiple illnesses) among older Americans poses a real threat to the nation’s health. If this trend continues, it is almost certain that it will put increasing pressure on the well-being of the elderly, on medical infrastructure and on federal insurance systems. In a related note, the number of Americans over the age of 65 is projected to increase by a staggering 50 percent by 2050. The researchers note that this is not the first study to show a greater deterioration in the health of today’s elderly. Going forward, they would like to see their findings help inform new policies to address this issue at the national level. “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we began to see declining life expectancy in middle-aged Americans, a reversal of a trend that lasted more than a century,” said Steven Haas, an associate professor of sociology and demography at Penn State. a statement. “In addition, for the past 30 years, the health of the population in the United States has lagged behind that of other high-income countries, and our findings suggest that the United States is likely to continue to lag behind our peers.” The study authors analyzed data on adults aged 51 and over that were originally collected from the Health and Retirement Study, which is a nationally representative survey of older Americans. Multidimensionality was measured by examining nine chronic conditions: heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, lung disease, cancer (excluding skin cancer), symptoms of major depression, and cognitive impairment. Variations in the specific conditions leading to generational differences in polynomials were also investigated.
Baby Boomers in worse health than Americans during the Great Depression?
Finally, the researchers concluded that the newer generations of older adults are more likely to live with more chronic conditions and develop these problems earlier in life. “For example, when we compare those born between 1948-65 – referred to as Baby Boomers – with those born during the last years of the Great Depression (between 1931 and 1941) at similar ages,” adds Professor Haas, Boomers had a higher number of chronic health conditions. “Baby Boomers also reported two or more chronic health conditions at younger ages.” In particular, socio-demographic factors have also been shown to influence the risk of multi-disease of all generations. Examples include race and nationality, whether the person was born in the US, socioeconomic status of childhood and child health. The most common diseases observed in adults with polyneuropathy (in all generations) were arthritis and hypertension. In addition, some evidence suggests that both highly depressive symptoms and diabetes have contributed to the observed differences in generational risk. The study authors say there are many possible explanations for these findings. “Generations born later had access to more advanced modern medicine for a longer period of their lives, so we can expect them to enjoy better health than those born to previous generations,” said Nicholas Bishop, an assistant professor at the University of Texas. “While this is partly true, advanced medical treatments can allow people to live with multiple chronic conditions that would once be fatal, potentially increasing a person’s chances of experiencing polyps.” Professor Bishops adds that today’s seniors were “more exposed” to health risk factors, such as obesity. Also, health problems are more likely to be diagnosed in older adults nowadays thanks to improvements in medical technology. The study is published in The Journals of Gerontology.
