"To actively promote the development of healthy aging in China, we must pay attention to and attach importance to health education for the elderly, and promote the improvement of health services for the elderly and the ability to prevent and control diseases of the elderly." Yao Yuan, vice president of the Chinese Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics, said. On December 20th, the first event of the "Silver Age Health, Warm Sunset" series of popular science forums initiated by the Chinese Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics and supported by Boston Scientific entered Taikang Home Yanyuan.
Seniors taking notes. Photo courtesy of the organizer.
The problem of longevity and unhealth of the elderly in China is prominent, and the healthy life expectancy is low
The problem of 'longevity and unhealth' among the elderly in China is more prominent, and the situation of living with diseases and coexisting with multiple diseases is very common. Wang Jianye, director of the National Geriatrics Center, said in an interview with the reporter of the people's health client. According to data from the National Health Commission, by the end of 2022, the number of elderly people aged 60 and above in the country reached 2800 million, accounting for 19 percent of the total population8%。
In the lecture, Wang Jianye mentioned the concept of "healthy life expectancy" in the popular science of "Prostatic Hyperplasia", and the average life expectancy of men in China is about 785 years old, females are about 80 years old. "But healthy life expectancy is low, less than 70 years, nearly 10 years worse than the average life expectancy, and although it is long-lived but not healthy, it means that most older people do not have a high quality of life at the end of their lives. ”
Popular science lectures allow the elderly to learn more about chronic diseases, solve their disease doubts, and relieve their psychological anxiety. At present, we also pay attention to the health management of the elderly in the community, and build a first-class hospital to organically and deeply combine medical care and elderly care. According to Ge Ming, general manager of Taikang Home Yanyuan Community.
To promote the development of healthy aging, it is necessary to strengthen the disease awareness of the elderly population.
The key to promoting healthy ageing is to understand the characteristics of the elderly. Wang Jianye said that the elderly have three characteristics of disease. First, it is easy to suffer from chronic diseases, such as common hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Second, there is the coexistence of multiple diseases, and there are many elderly people who suffer from two or more chronic diseases at the same time. Third, from the perspective of symptoms, the onset and slow development of the elderly are atypical, and the symptoms and signs are atypical. Most older people are less responsive to disease and less sensitive to pain, making the disease more difficult to manage.
The first step is to raise awareness of disease among the elderly, which is an important step towards healthy ageing. Many elderly people often don't realize that they are sick, or they always drag out because they don't want to increase the burden on their children**. Yao Yuan said that it is particularly important to enhance the awareness of disease prevention and treatment among the elderly, who eat well and are overnourished, which often leads to more and more chronic diseases. Family members should urge the elderly to have regular physical examinations and improve their living habits. All sectors of society also need to do more health education publicity and popularization to strengthen the disease awareness of the elderly.
The Chinese Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics and Boston Scientific donated health education books to the Taikang Home Yanyuan community. Photo courtesy of the organizer.
Wang Yubin, chief physician of the Department of Cardiology of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, and Wu Qi, chief physician of the Endoscopy Center of Peking University Cancer Hospital, were also invited to popularize the management of common chronic diseases such as colorectal cancer and stroke to the elderly in Yanyuan community. At the event, the Chinese Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics and Boston Scientific donated 500 health education books "Guarding His Health" to Taikang Home Yanyuan Park to popularize the management of 11 common chronic geriatric diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular, liver cirrhosis, and lung cancer.
It is reported that the "Silver Age Health and Warm Sunset" series of popular science forum projects will also enter Taikang Home, Shanghai Shenyuan and Chengdu Shuyuan, as well as other elderly care communities across the country, to popularize the knowledge of health management of chronic diseases in the elderly to more silver-haired people, and further improve the health literacy of the elderly in China. Jun Zhang, President of Boston Scientific Greater China, said, "Through its innovative technologies and products, the company will fully participate in the promotion of healthy aging in the fields of geriatric health education, geriatric academic research, geriatric chronic disease management and geriatric medical services, and work with all sectors of society to protect the health of the silver age." ”