Paper Details

The population of older persons in India is increasing at a much faster rate than the developed countries. Those aged 60 years and above constitute 7.4 per cent of the country’s population at present. The population explosion is a great concern as it leads to poverty, neglect, abuse, violence, crime, and more importantly overcrowding, all of which have direct relation with health and economic status of the older persons. Aged comprises one of the important vulnerable groups having health problems mostly due to degenerative changes. Thus social, physical and economic well-being of this group has become challenging issues. In lower middle-income countries, like India, population ageing will play a more important role than population growth due to increasing deaths from Non-Communicable Diseases. However, empirical evidences suggest that the disability and adverse consequences of Non-Communicable Diseases can be prevented or postponed by investment in health throughout life.

Health Problems, Economic Burden, Old Age