Older people are now more active and have more abilities than they used to have

MEDIA

Daniela Weber talks with Radio Sputnik about a recent study on future trends in the prevalence of severe activity limitations among older adults in Europe, conducted together with Sergei Scherbov in the framework of the IIASA Re-aging project.

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One in several elderly Europeans will be disabled or gravely ill in thirty years’ time, that's according to a new study. The research was published in the online medical journal BMJ Open. According to the report, one in four women and one in six men aged sixty-five and older and residing in the European Union will be disabled or have grave chronical diseases. The study is based on data from the annual EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions combined with the UN forecasts for life expectancy and population growth. The researchers computed healthy life years and compared them to life expectancy in order to predict prevalence of severe activity limitations among older adults. The study found that the trend would unfold despite the expected increase of life expectancy in European countries. Radio Sputnik discussed the issue with Daniela Weber, Research Scholar with the World Population Program at The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and an assistant professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.   

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