Demographic aspects of population aging in developed countries

There has been a dramatic growth of the elderly (aged 60+) population in the developed countries since 1950. By the year 2000, roughly 20% of the population in these countries will belong to the aged. Women far outnumber men among the elderly due to differential mortality trends between the sexes. Male life expectancy at age 60 varies from 19.1 years in Japan to 14.6 years in Hungary. Among females, the range is from 23.2 years (Canada) to 18.4 years (Romania). Mortality rates have declined dramatically in several countries since 1970 due primarily to declines in death rates from ischaemic heart disease and stroke.     

Paid medical services for the population of the USSR

The state of the network of cost-accounting medical facilities, their role and place in the system of medical paid services for the population are described. The work, economic and fiscal activities of Moscow cost-accounting medical facilities are analyzed. Measures aimed at further improvement of medical facilities providing paid services to the population are proposed.     

南通市人口老龄化与老年人死因分析和预测

目的分析南通市人口老龄化和老年人死因现状,预测未来变化趋势,为合理制定老年人卫生保健计划提供科学依据。方法用描述流行病学方法对2006-2009年的人口资料和居民死亡资料进行分析,建立灰色预测GM（1,1）模型,对南通市人口老龄化和老年人死因变化趋势进行预测。结果 2006-2009年,南通市平均老年系数为17.63%;预测2013年老年系数将超过20%,2030年将超过30%;≥60岁老年人死亡率为37.17‰;前5位死因依次是循环系统疾病（13.19‰）、恶性肿瘤（8.85‰）、呼吸系统疾病（5.56‰）、损伤和中毒（0.96‰）及消化系统疾病（0.78‰）。结论预测随着人口老龄化的发展,老年人循环系统疾病、恶性肿瘤的死亡率将持续上升。循环系统疾病、恶性肿瘤等疾病是老年人疾病预防与控制工作的重点,社会和政府有关部门应给予高度重视。     

Demographic and dietary determinants of constipation in the US population.

We investigated the association between self-reported constipation and several demographic and dietary variables in 15,014 men and women 12-74 years of age examined between 1971-75 during the first Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Overall, 12.8 percent reported constipation. Self-reported constipation correlated poorly with stool frequency. Nine percent of those with daily stools and 30.6 percent of those with four to six stools/week, reported constipation. Constipation was more frequent in Blacks (17.3 percent), women (18.2 percent), and those over age 60 (23.3 percent); after adjusting for age, sex, and race it was more prevalent in those with daily inactivity, little leisure exercise, low income, and poor education. Constipated subjects reported lower consumption of cheese, dry beans and peas, milk, meat and poultry, beverages (sweetened, carbonated and noncarbonated), and fruits and vegetables. They reported higher consumption of coffee or tea. They consumed fewer total calories even after controlling for body mass and exercise.     

Health care expenditures and the aging population

The impact of a longer life on future health care expenditures will be quite moderate because of the high costs of dying and the compression of mortality in old age. If not age per se but proximity to death determines the bulk of expenditures, a shift in the mortality risk to higher ages will not significantly affect lifetime health care expenditures, as death occurs only once in every life. A calculation of the demographic effect on health care expenditures in Germany up until 2050 that explicitly accounts for costs in the last years of life leads to a significantly lower demographic impact on per-capita expenditures than a calculation based on crude age-specific health expenditures.