Old age
This article deals with old age as a stage of human life. For other meanings, see Age (disambiguation).
Greisin is a redirect to this article. See also: The unworthy old woman.
Old age is the period of life around the mean life expectancy of humans, i.e. the age between middle adulthood and death. Aging in this stage of life is usually associated with a decline in activity and a general physical decline (senescence).
Apart from these basic facts - which are recognised in all societies - the image of old age is culturally shaped. Religious traditions play a central role here, even in secular societies whose members are often hardly aware of these traditions any more. The image of old age is also not uniform. In many cultures it is particularly respected and honoured; in some, such as Judaism, old age is even regarded as an almost ideal state of life. In others, however, such as ancient Athens, old people were systematically ostracized. In Japan, the Day of Honoring the Elderly (敬老の日) has been an official annual holiday since 1966. Such cultural contrasts correspond on a philosophical and psychological level to activity, competence and opportunity models of old age on the one hand and deficit models on the other.
Old age is the subject of biological, medical, legal, developmental psychological, philosophical, cultural anthropological, socio-historical, social, economic, political and cultural studies. Gerontology strives for an interdisciplinary description of old age.
Older Mexican Girl
Rear view of older couple with whitened hair
Biological perspective
→ Main article: Aging
Within the framework of biogerontology - i.e. the sub-discipline of developmental biology that deals with research into the causes of ageing and its consequences, senescence - more than 300 possible causes of ageing are discussed today. In particular, theories of wear and tear and cell biological theories based on genetic causes are cited here.
Medical perspective
→ Main article: Geriatrics
Only a few diseases occur exclusively or almost exclusively in old age; many, however, occur more frequently in old age. Geriatrics - the sub-discipline of medicine that deals with the diseases of ageing people - distinguishes between age-associated diseases on the one hand and age syndromes on the other. Age-associated diseases include arteriosclerosis (with heart attack and stroke), arthrosis, dementia, diabetes mellitus, cataracts, cancer and osteoporosis. The syndromes of old age include intelligence decline, immobility, instability (e.g., falls in old age), incontinence (urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence), and sensory decline. The treatment of elderly patients is called gerotherapy.
